


Anima's Influence

by sebaschan (neganstonguething)



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, but not outright romantic, lost!joseph, seb loves two people at once, some romantic elements, sort of character death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-07 21:21:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 38,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14679741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neganstonguething/pseuds/sebaschan
Summary: She's stalking him with the past. She wants him to succumb. But somebody else doesn't, and that somebody else is going to go through hell and back to make sure Sebastian gets out alive.Slight canon-divergence, some made-up scenes, more like my attempt to involve Joseph in the TEW2 plotline.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! Been a big Joseb fan since the first game came out, and after a long-ass break from the fandom, I return back after playing TEW2, and of course, I can't help but write something this time around! This won't be the only TEW fic you see from me, but hopefully that's a good thing! 
> 
> I've pretty much already got this entire thing planned out, so here's to hoping I can crank out chapters relatively quickly. c: Bear with me guys!
> 
> Like I said in my description, this story involves some more made-up scenes involving Anima. Hope that's alright, haha.

A chill hangs heavy in the air, but it’s not like the chill of winter. There’s no promise of snow or surrounding thought of sledding and hot chocolate around a fireplace. It isn’t peaceful or welcoming, and rather than make Sebastian think to stop and look around at the sky, he feels the overwhelming impulse to take off sprinting.

It happens when _it_ follows. When that _thing_ draws near, everything changes. Very abruptly, it grows cold and the inky gray-black of the union sky shifts to a cloudy, haunting blue. The world surrounding Sebastian feels heavier, and the air around him so cold and threatening that even the Lost pursuing him seem to find it a better idea to go into hiding.

There’s never any predicting when it’s going to strike. Sebastian has the change in atmosphere to go by, and then he ducks around the nearest corner he can find and hopes that the wall this bitch chooses to go through this time doesn’t happen to be the one he’s hiding behind.

She leaves as unexpectedly as she comes. Sometimes, Sebastian is stuck sneaking around for a quarter of an hour, and others, she’s only there for a few seconds. The former detective has no way of discerning exactly what triggers it, but he knows she’s after him.

Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard. Icy and grating, whispering his name. Her hair and clothes hang around her body in ribbons, and her movements bob and weave and flow. Sometimes, she’s far too fast for Sebastian’s comfort, and other times, she takes slow, taunting steps. She’s always got that mangled, broken rendition of a sentimental song waiting on her lips, and she haunts Sebastian with it every single time she shows up.

He doesn’t know much about her, but one thing he _is_ certain of is the fact that she’s connected to Beacon and the things that happened inside STEM there.

Would she kill him? Sebastian isn’t certain, but he’s not taking his chances. There are times when encountering her is unavoidable, and when those happen, Sebastian finds himself plunged back into history, surrounded by the dusty, empty halls of Beacon Mental Hospital. She stalks him up and down these halls, as if encouraging him to get a move-on and have a look around.

Sebastian’s feet feel like glue each and every time, like something is holding him at that hospital. He’s not entirely certain that it’s fair to give all the credit to this thing, though. There’s something else. Something he can’t quite put his finger on.

The most recent encounter had featured him seeing a reflection of himself from three years ago in the mirror. The reflection had looked weak and tired, with eyes so sunken that Sebastian had been compelled to bring a hand to his own face to make sure his sockets were in their normal place. Its shoulders had drooped with some unseen weight, and no matter how hard Sebastian had tried, he couldn’t recall ever feeling that overwhelmed all those years ago. It had been rough, but Sebastian had been filled with resolve. This version of himself, he hadn’t been so sure would have made it through those events alive.

He had looked as if he was _stuck_ there.

She’s shown up more than ever following that particular encounter. It’s like she wasn’t done when Sebastian had decided to take his leave. Like she’s still got so much more to say. And Sebastian won’t deny that there’s a curiosity to know what exactly all that entails, but he’s got priorities. Like finding his daughter and getting out of this mess. He can’t risk losing to this _thing_ over a little rampant curiosity, because that means that Lily is still stuck here.

Besides, STEM and Union…just like Beacon…they’ve got a knack for messing with a person’s head.

Despite that, the strange, ghostly woman is pursuing Sebastian again. He’s in the middle of trying to find his way into the theater when all of Union engulfs itself in blue again. Fear grips him, and he ducks back behind the nearby drive-thru bank, peering around the corner. He can see her strange, hovering form skittering slowly down the street not too far from him, and he hopes to whatever god even exists in this world that she doesn’t suddenly have a revelation about his location.

He checks the clip in his pistol, even though he already knows it’s useless to try and shoot her. His first attempt to do that had launched him back into Beacon for the first time, where he’d found a bed with his family picture on the end table, and the memories had gripped him so hard that he’d almost wanted to collapse right there.

He doesn’t want to go through that again, so he holsters his gun. His hands are empty now, and it feels uncomfortable with the ghostly woman stalking her way up and down the street. Somehow, the twisted version of _Clair De Lune_ that falls from her lips manages to carry effortlessly across the entirety of Union. Sebastian is certain he could hear it clearly anywhere he goes.

When she goes far enough down the street that she leaves Sebastian’s sights, he grows nervous. He sneaks along the back side of the building he’s hiding behind until he finds the edge on the other side, and he peers around.

Nothing.

But the cold still weighs the air down with its icy presence, and the tune still surrounds him.

Where did she go?

Sebastian turns and puts his back against the concrete of the building. He inhales slowly and lets out the quietest sigh he can manage.

And then his heart practically comes up from his chest and out of his throat. There’s a loud, ghostly howl, and the woman is standing right in front of him. Her arms are extended out toward him, and then everything is shifting around him. The building behind him seems to elongate and curve around him, and then it’s as if it’s swallowing him whole.

Sebastian’s vision goes black.

He awakens mid-fall. It looks as if he’s been catapulted through a stairwell, as looking straight ahead, he can see stairs whizzing past him. He lands at the base of the stairs, hits the ground, and then falls sideways as if gravity has chosen not to make sense. His sight blackens again.

When he comes to, it’s on the chipped concrete of the all-too-familiar Beacon Mental Hospital. Sebastian doesn’t know exactly where within the confines of the hospital he is, but the atmosphere is unmistakable.

With some effort, he manages to get to his feet. His back and shoulders ache something fierce from the rough landing, but as per usual, he somehow finds the strength to shrug it all off.

Sebastian recognizes the area. Right down to the blood and bodies strewn everywhere, he knows he’s standing in the lobby of the mental hospital. How could he forget?

But he’s not alone. He recognizes the tune and the icy air immediately, and he moves to hide behind the reception desk.

It’s as if he’s in the audience and the rest of the room is the stage, because a scene plays out before him. As the ghostly lady shuffles idly across the room, the double doors across the lobby creak open. Sebastian hears his own voice telling Kidman to keep watch, and then he sees himself and none other than Joseph Oda step inside.

He knows it’s just a memory. He knows this isn’t real—that it’s just another one of the visions the singing, ghostly woman is showing him—but he hasn’t seen Joseph in so long. His chest constricts so tightly that he legitimately finds it difficult to breathe, and his heart somehow sinks at the same time.

Joseph is dead.

Kidman shot him.

But if that’s the case, why is he being shown this?

“There’s somebody alive in here,” Joseph’s voice echoes and carries in the same way that the singing woman’s voice does, and Sebastian feels it vibrating right down into his bones. He watches the memory of himself and Joseph enter the control room—hears Marcelo’s voice.

And then the floor fades out from under him. He drops, tries to contain his screams as his body plummets. Everything around him is completely black, and yet Sebastian feels as if he can see it flying past him as he falls.

His landing is softer this time. He splashes right into a vat of what looks like blood. Smells like blood.

A glance around tells Sebastian he’s right where it all began. Right after he’d managed to escape the chainsaw-wielding man. His leg sears with pain, and he doesn’t have to look down to know why.

“Goddamn it…!” He curses, partly under his breath. “I don’t have time for this. I’ve got to find Lily.” She’s confined at that fucking theater, with that asshole whose MO involves brutally killing people and capturing the image frozen in time. With Lily being the Core, Sebastian doesn’t see that happening to her, but that doesn’t make the idea of what her power _could_ be used for any less haunting.

She could be in pain, and Sebastian is stuck here. In the past.

He’s not stupid. He knows what he’s got to do. He shuffles painfully across the expanse of the vat of red liquid until he finds a ladder. With some effort, he clambers out and onto solid ground. His pants are stained dark red from the blood, and as he steps forward, it seeps from his clothing and onto the concrete beneath him. Some of it comes up fresher and brighter, and Sebastian knows it’s because it’s from the wound on his calf.

Despite how many years have passed since the events at Beacon, Sebastian knows exactly where he’s going. He follows the underground path, beyond the dead man in the wheelchair and all the way to another ladder.

The path is like muscle memory to him. Hide from the man with the chainsaw, wait for him to pass by, and then sneak past him into that room leading out toward the lobby. Attempt to flee through the searing pain in his leg, and get chased all the way to the elevator. Sebastian couldn’t forget those events if he tried, and as he traverses through them, it’s as if even the chainsaw wielder is following just as Sebastian’s memory tells him to. He crosses through the room, just barely sneaking past, until he’s out the door and headed toward the elevator.

Despite having remembered the roaring of the chainsaw so well, the sound still frightens Sebastian. As he limps as quickly as he can go down the long hallway with all its obstacles, he still finds himself wondering if this is how he’s going to die. He just barely makes it over a stretcher, mentally begs his body to give him a little more strength, and somehow hefts himself up onto his feet, where he limps the rest of the way toward the elevator.

And then he collapses. It’s as he’s attempting, just as memory intends, to light a cigarette and coming up empty, that everything changes again. One more violent howl and the ghost lady is hovering right in front of him. She whispers Sebastian’s name in that high-pitched whisper of hers, and then reaches out for him.

Sebastian isn’t sure if the world is going to change around him again or if he’s going to die. He grits his teeth and looks away.

But nothing happens. One, two, three seconds pass and Sebastian finds he’s still sitting on his ass in that elevator, his leg burning fiercely with pain. He swallows a lump in his throat and turns his gaze back up toward the ghost lady.

She’s frozen there, reared back like a frightened animal. Sebastian can’t see her eyes, but he can tell she’s either very shocked or very afraid.

Standing between them, there’s a form that Sebastian isn’t so sure he wants to recognize but does nonetheless. The body standing between them has his arms extended out protectively, his back to Sebastian, facing the spectre before him. He sports the same black KCPD vest and white undershirt, though the bottom of it is tattered and frayed in parts. His hair is somehow still so neat, and by some miracle, he’s still got those gloves of his on.

Joseph Oda is protecting Sebastian.

Sebastian reaches out for his former partner, and then whiteness surrounds him. When it fades, he’s right back in Union, still leaned up against the concrete wall of the back of that bank, and the chill has faded from the air.

He feels like his heart is going to pound out of his chest. Was that really Joseph? Is he here somehow, too? Sebastian’s memory sure doesn’t recall Joseph protecting him in an elevator on that day in Beacon. Nor did that ghost woman follow him around back then.

But Joseph died…

Sebastian’s communicator buzzes. He picks it up and raises it to his ear.

“Sebastian? Are you alright?”

Kidman’s voice gives him no comfort right now.

“…Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Kidman responds. “Your vitals escalated again. What happened?”

“…I dunno,” Sebastian answers honestly. He supposes he could tell her about the ghost lady and the strange flashbacks to Beacon she’s been showing him, but the last time he’d mentioned Beacon, she’d suggested he try and move past it. He kind of wishes he could at this point. But it’s a little difficult to when something meandering around Union keeps trying to shove it back in his face.

He settles on one statement.

“…I saw Joseph.”

It makes him uncomfortable that the call simply ends there.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so this marks the end of the exposition! From here on out, I get to move the plot along, haha. What's strange is that this fic was supposed to be a oneshot before I started writing it. I keep getting more and more ideas for it as I go. I'm excited to show you all what I've come up with!
> 
> It's been incredibly hard not to write Kidman's take on this whole thing, and at this point in time, neither Sebastian nor Joseph trust her. I dislike writing her like she's the enemy, but her time to shine will come. 
> 
> Anywho, enough rambling. I hope you guys enjoy this second chapter. Thanks for giving the first one a read!

He did it.

By some crazy twist of fate, Joseph did it. Sebastian is, at least in terms relative to the shittiness of the situation he’s caught up in, safe.

Beacon Mental Hospital fades away, taking all its decrepit halls and broken doors and the chainsaw-wielding maniac with it. Joseph finds himself and his ghostly new enemy inside the walls of the Juke Diner. It’s one of the many locations he has spent his time memorizing on the huge map of Union he found inside the Marrow.

Joseph has painstakingly drawn down every key point in the fabricated town, right down to the addresses of homes with terminals into the Marrow and places Sebastian seems to frequent. He has managed to locate a number of safe houses, some inhabited by Mobius operatives, and some that haven’t even been visited yet. There’s one he plans to take up residence in himself, once he’s certain Sebastian is through putting himself in danger.

Joseph still can’t believe he’s here. One minute, he was waking up from the STEM that had him trapped with Ruvik and Leslie, and the next, he’s being told that three years have passed and he doesn’t have a choice but to enter a new one.

_“Your job is to protect the Marker.”_

_The man’s voice is deep and distant, coming from a window high above Joseph, and he finds it challenging to get a good look at the guy’s face. He has a feeling that’s intentional. They’re standing in a circular room that Joseph now understands to be a STEM terminal. In the terminal stands Kidman, Joseph, and two suit-clad Mobius operatives._

_“You’ve been with them the whole time,” Joseph observes aloud, a sharp glare aimed right at Kidman. The nagging voices that had tormented him in the last STEM had clued him in long ago to this fact plenty of times, but it feels good to actually be able to call her out on it._

_Juli doesn’t seem to take offense. “It’s a long story,” she tells him, “and we don’t have enough time to touch base on it right now.”_

_“Kid is right,” the man from above adds almost affectionately, before he motions to the one occupied STEM pod in the room. Joseph had seen it on his way into the terminal, and he recognizes the man sleeping inside it to be his old partner, Sebastian Castellanos. “The Marker has been sent inside to retrieve and restore the Core, which will theoretically stop an impending STEM collapse.”_

_“Core?” Joseph doesn’t bother hiding his confusion. He still knows so little about STEM, even despite the hell he had endured while being forced into direct exposure to it._

_“The Core keeps a STEM together,” Kidman explains, nodding to a tall, cylindrical metal container in the center of the room. “And the traits they have to possess in order to do such a thing are hard to find. This one’s valuable, and she went dark on us a while back. Sebastian was our only hope. And now, you’re_ his _only hope.”_

_Joseph approaches the cylinder. The name on the pod is printed in all caps on a label. Joseph can’t believe his eyes. It reads ‘LILY CASTELLANOS’. Locked in disbelief, he raises a hand to the cool metal and runs his fingers over the label. “There’s no way this can be Lily. She died. I watched Sebastian and his wife mourn as she was lowered into the ground.”_

_“Again,” Kidman sighs, “long story. No time for explanations.”_

_Joseph still can’t process what he’s just seen, but if this really_ is _Lily, it’s no wonder Sebastian was willing to enter another STEM._

_Though Joseph doubts he was given much choice._

_The man staring down at them speaks up again. “I’ll have Kid send the information you need to your Room once you’re inside. Protect the Marker. Nothing more, nothing less. Do_ not _distract him from his objective.”_

_“You really think he’s going to forget he’s looking for his own daughter?” Joseph questions matter-of-factly._

_“Just get ready for STEM entry,” Kidman requests, sounding more exhausted than curt._

Joseph didn’t have a choice but to enter STEM at that point. He would have gone anyway once he learned Sebastian was inside, but he had still been treated as if it was happening to him whether he wanted it to or not.

Joseph doesn’t use his Room much. He’s lost track of time, but it has to have been a while since he arrived. He doesn’t mind the Room, and if he has to regroup, he goes there. But it’s impossible to track Sebastian’s signal on his communicator from within it, so he spends most of his time prowling around Union, getting to know the place. He’s memorized just about every street sign and main building, enough to notice how one set of traffic lights next to the Devil’s Own Taproom glows more brightly than the others, or the way that none of the houses on Cedar avenue look as if they should belong on the same street together, like building blocks just haphazardly tossed together.

His Room is the office he and Sebastian spent so many years working together in. It’s a perfect replica, right down to the desk in the center of Sebastian’s office and the many file cabinets outside of said office. On Joseph’s desk, which sits right outside the door leading to Sebastian’s space, the important information he’s given is sent there. If Kidman says she’s going to send him something, it appears there out of thin air.

Funny, how after getting shot by her, Joseph now has to rely on her for things like this. At the very least, she doesn’t seem keen on putting another bullet in him. Not that forcing him to enter another STEM is much better on the totem pole…

Joseph was initially given a document about something called the Lost Phenomenon. Apparently, as the STEM collapse started, citizens of Union suddenly felt as if they were being chased by something. Chaos erupted in the Mobius labs within the Marrow and all across Union. People started changing. Grew violent and almost completely inhuman. They mutated, and then they killed. Reading up on this had initially been frightening to Joseph, because it had reminded him of the ones in Beacon. Something which Joseph himself had gotten so dangerously close to becoming. But he had looked past it in favor of deciding what in the hell he was going to do to prevent Sebastian from ending up like them.

Over time, Joseph has learned that the Lost Phenomenon is a little different from what had happened to him in Beacon. Ruvik had been the primary voice in who changed and what they changed into. In Union, the curse seems to stem from the victim, itself. As if their past is chasing them, and if they succumb, they become ‘lost’ in their own demons. And that’s it.

The thing pursuing Sebastian looks feminine, but has a tall, frighteningly curved form with long, dark hair and a tattered dress. Most times, Sebastian has been able to escape her on his own. Years of training have made him incredibly stealthy, and Joseph has watched from the backburner as Sebastian has repeatedly snuck past the ghost stalking him and whatever memories she is trying to show him.

Up until just moments ago. Sebastian hadn’t been given a choice this time. The ghostly woman had waited until she’d had him trapped in an elevator to corner him.

When Sebastian’s signal broadcasts on Joseph’s communicator is when he knows his former partner is in trouble. After that, Joseph knows what to do on pure instinct. With a little focus, it’s like he phase-shifts to whatever world this ghostly presence has Sebastian in, and he now knows he can step in if needed. Every single time up until now, he’d just honed in on Sebastian’s location and watched him escape. But this time was obviously different.

All he had needed to do this time was come between them. It had been like his presence was so unexpected that it had snapped Sebastian and the spectre out of whatever vision they were in and brought Union back to all three of them. And with her sights on Joseph now, Sebastian has a moment of reprieve.

But now, Joseph needs to run. He doesn’t know if the so-called Lost Phenomenon works on him as well or not, but he isn’t ready to find out. So long as Sebastian and his daughter are stuck in this hell-hole, he’s got to be alive to protect them.

The ghostly woman, despite her normally-slow, borderline elegant movements, is extremely fast all of a sudden. She doesn’t just float freely toward him—she zips in short, violent bursts. One moment, Joseph thinks he’s got several yards on her, but the next time he glances back, she’s right behind him.

He sprints out of the diner and onto the street. He notices how it seems to be just him and this ghostly pursuer right now. No enemies, no Sebastian. Just Joseph fleeing for his life.

He thinks that maybe he could retreat to his Room, if only just for long enough that she would go away. But what if she sets her sights on Sebastian again? She’s done it three times now since Joseph has been here, let alone before.

Does Joseph really have to make himself her permanent target to keep Sebastian out of her grasp?

Perhaps he could just find Sebastian and stay by his side while he searches for Lily. Would that be so wrong? What exactly constitutes protecting Sebastian, ‘nothing more and nothing less’?

Joseph has a feeling that this big Mobius cheese wouldn’t take too kindly to Sebastian’s former partner working alongside him. He probably suspects the two of them would conspire against him, and Joseph would feel compelled to agree in such a case. He and Sebastian have proven over the years that they’re a formidable team, and he knows beyond any shadow of a doubt that neither of them are okay with the fact that saving Lily does not include freeing her from Mobius. Together, they would undoubtedly plot to escape somehow right out from under that man’s nose.

So, what does he do?

In the end, Joseph finds a house with a personal security system keeping it locked, and shoots a telephone wire down onto its garage. The wires trip the breaker outside of the garage door and said door screeches open. The Mobius logo on the garage door tells Joseph it’s a safe house, and for some reason, safe houses are all but invisible to any of the creatures that lurk within Union. He doesn’t know about this particular attacker, but he has to try.

There’s the slightest instant where Joseph gets the feeling that Mobius knew how unstable this STEM was going to be. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have set up places like this.

Thankfully, the ghostly woman seems to forget about him once he’s inside. He steps into a widespread living room with an open kitchen, and on the bar sits a computer that he knows happens to lead into the Marrow.

He calls Kidman.

“Joseph?” Kidman asks as she picks up. “What is it?”

Joseph takes a seat at a stool in front of the bar. “I found out why Sebastian needs protection.”

“How bad is it?” Kidman wonders.

“You don’t know?” Joseph doesn’t bother trying to conceal the sarcasm in his voice.

Kidman doesn’t seem to care. “How could I? All I get are signals and whatever information you and Sebastian feel compelled to give me.”

“Well, it’s pretty bad,” Joseph continues. He’s debated telling Kidman about Sebastian’s pursuer ever since he noticed her the first time, but something has always distracted him from doing so. “That information you sent me is pretty spot-on. Something is stalking Sebastian, and while he’s good at hiding, it’s getting smart. It’s learning to trap him.”

There’s a long pause before Kidman speaks again. Almost as if she’s conferring with someone. “…Is it getting in the way of him locating the Core?”

“Are you kidding me?” Joseph snaps into the communicator.

“Don’t forget that’s his objective, Joseph.” Kidman’s voice sounds almost robotic.

“The hell it is,” Joseph argues icily. “Sebastian isn’t thinking of this like a mission. You people put his daughter in here. He thought she was dead—”

“—Joseph—”

“—and he’s expected to find her, just so you guys can use her again. I’ve heard of cruelty, but this is downright disturbing.”

“I know how it sounds,” Juli sighs over the machine, “but at least she would be alive. I’m sure Sebastian wants at least that much.”

She’s got joseph backed into a corner with that. He has plenty he could say, but he’s got to get back out and make sure Sebastian is okay.

“That’s not why I called, anyway,” Joseph continues.

“Yeah?” Kidman questions. “What is it, then?”

“I’m not sure how to stop what’s after Sebastian. It’s relentless, and it tracks him down repeatedly. I can draw it away, but it seems to get tired of me after some time and turns its focus back on him.”

“Sounds like you need to keep an eye on him and intervene as needed,” Juli responds. “Seems pretty straightforward to me.”

“What if I’m not fast enough?” Joseph asks. “Or what if it kills me? Who protects him then?”

“You can’t let either of those happen,” Kidman replies firmly. “It’s that simple.”

“It’s never that simple in STEM, Kidman,” Joseph disagrees calmly. “Remember how you shot me in the chest? I’m somehow still alive, and you and I are still on speaking terms despite it. And that’s _all_ because of STEM and Mobius, neither of which are even the slightest bit simple.”

Juli sighs. “So, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to go to him.”

“You can’t do that,” Kidman interjects a little too quickly.

“Why not?” Joseph doesn’t mask his irritation. He’s been forced into here, told Sebastian _and_ a long-thought-dead Lily Castellanos are in here, and made to protect Sebastian by any means necessary. But the instant he comes up with a viable means, he gets told not to?

“He can’t know you’re there,” Kidman explains. “We’ve only made plans for one extraction. Sebastian will no doubt want you out, too.”

Joseph freezes.

Had Kidman really just stated that he was stuck here? Don’t get him wrong—he would have still more than willingly jumped in to protect Sebastian, but…why hadn’t they told him? It seems like the more exposure Joseph has to these guys, the dirtier and more underhanded they prove themselves to be.

But make no mistake—Joseph would give his life for one Sebastian Castellanos.

“You can’t let him think that there’s a chance he could save you,” Kidman continues, taking advantage of the silence. “His daughter is always going to come first, but…he’d do a lot more for you than you realize, Joseph.”

Joseph’s heart feels heavy. He wants out, too. He aches to be free. Some part of him knows Mobius wouldn’t just let him roam around out in the open even if he did manage to carry out his objective, but that isn’t the point. STEM…it’s all Hell. He is never going to have a shot at a regular life ever again. This is it. This is all there is left of him.

He tips his head up at the ceiling. Tries to resolve himself to his fate. Reminds himself that Sebastian needs him. He can think about what to do with his own situation later.

He has to protect Sebastian. Nothing else matters.

The resolution comes to him quickly when he thinks of it that way.

He lets out a defeated sigh. “…What do you recommend I do, then?”

“Keep doing what you’ve been doing,” Kidman answers. “Maintain your distance and only jump in if absolutely necessary. In the meantime, I’ll try and figure something out.”

The call ends there. Joseph returns his communicator to his belt and flops forward onto the bar. He exhales what feels like every bit of air in his lungs.

He hadn’t said it over the communicator for fear of retaliation, but there’s no way Sebastian hadn’t seen him already. He had all-but dove right in front of the other man when he’d thought the guy was going to be killed by that…ghost.

Not that it matters right now. He’s got more pressing issues.

Joseph needs to get back outside. Not because some big scary Mobius man is telling him to, but because Sebastian is still out there. He doesn’t feel compelled to obey Kidman’s request for him to stay away from Sebastian, but he recalls what lies outside of STEM. He’s just a body sleeping in a glorified bathtub right now. And so is Sebastian. With how little concern Mobius has shown for people already, Joseph doubts they’d be opposed to retaliation against disobedience. And while Joseph doesn’t really care what happens to himself anymore, it doesn’t strike him as unfathomable that Mobius might use Sebastian as punishment just to get a point across.

But…would they be able to tell whether Joseph obeyed or not? Kidman had said she’d only been able to receive signals and nothing more. Did those signals involve his and Sebastian’s relative locations?

Joseph can’t take his chances yet. But he isn’t done with this topic. Not by a long shot.

He gets to his feet, and then his communicator goes off.

Sebastian’s signal is everywhere. Joseph tries to track it, but it’s as if it’s all over the place. He frowns at the little machine. “…Is this thing faulty?”

The house around him starts to melt away. In a frightening blend of sloshing noises and the squelching of molten walls sinking down to the ground, Joseph is alerted to the fact that he’s about to be buried in the slop. He takes off for the door, which disintegrates right before his eyes just as he approaches it. In an instant, he’s outside. He spins about and glances at the melted ruins of the home he had at one point taken refuge in.

The computer leading to the Marrow is still there, perched atop a slumped ruin of the bar. Joseph doesn’t give himself time to put logic to that.

Sebastian’s signal is still broadcasting all around him.

“ _SEBASTIAN…_ ”

The voice is a feminine, high-pitched whisper that surrounds the entire general area and sends shivers up and down Joseph’s spine. Union is bathed in a sea of dark blue, like whatever provides this place with light has been covered in a camera filter.

And there she is. She’s standing in the middle of the street, just looking around. A twisted tune swims around her in a way that makes Joseph feel as if she’s the one singing it.

She’s unaware of Joseph. Every now and then, she’ll look in one direction, and then the other, but she never leaves her spot.

“…That’s unusual…” Joseph observes under his breath. Normally she doesn’t show up until she’s right on Sebastian’s tail.

Where even _is_ Sebastian? His signal is still going crazy on Joseph’s communicator, but he can’t see the man anywhere. Is he hiding?

Joseph scans the area around him. Normally, he can catch a flicker of Sebastian hiding behind a building or a tree or sneaking off into the distance, but right now, the man is all but invisible. Even the ghost lady can’t seem to find him.

And then, there’s a violent flash of white light. It swallows up the entirety of the general area. Joseph shields his eyes on instinct.

It takes a second or two for the light to fade, but when it does, Joseph feels his stomach twist in horror. Sebastian is on his knees in front of the ghostly figure, his hands hanging limp at his sides and his gaze turned up toward her. Even from the half a block of distance between them and Joseph, Joseph can see how the irises of Sebastian’s eyes have gone a frightening, glowing white. His mouth hangs open, as if he’s caught up in a trance by whatever she’s doing to him.

“Shit!” Joseph breaks into a run toward them. He reaches out to clasp his fingers around Sebastian’s shoulder, and then everything goes white again.

When he can see again, he finds himself watching a scene playing out before him. Sebastian is cradling a clone of Joseph himself on the ground next to one of those pods. It’s a scene Joseph remembers too well. He remembers coughing up too much liquid for comfort, and then being in searing pain. He remembers Sebastian hanging back every time his coughing spells would get particularly bad, and he also remembers how most of his travels during that time were almost unbearably painful. He’d ached so badly that he’d wanted the pain to end by any means necessary. And when he’d realized the pain was transforming him into something truly horrific, he had wanted it to end even more, if only for fear that he’d hurt someone otherwise.

Sebastian had strangely been less fearful of Joseph than Joseph himself had been. In that gruff, surly way of his, he’d been concerned. A source of comfort. A reminder to Joseph that he’d had a reason to keep trying.

Standing here, watching from the backburner as Sebastian is confronted with this memory, Joseph finds himself overcome with the urge to provide that very same comfort to his friend. Sebastian is constantly being pursued by a ghostly presence, attacked by mutated Union citizens and Mobius operatives, and haunted by the looming threat of something bad happening to his daughter. Joseph has to find some sort of way to encourage him, even if he has to do it from afar.

He realizes that in a way, Kidman is right. That Sebastian’s main goal is to retrieve Lily, and while Mobius wants him to restore her influence over Union, Joseph already knows without having to ask that the tenacious Sebastian Castellanos is planning on getting his daughter and getting the hell out. If Joseph’s presence were to get in the way of that, he’d never forgive himself.

He suddenly has an idea. If he really _is_ never getting out of Union, then it could work.

“ _SEBASTIAN…_ ”

The ghostly voice startles Joseph, and he leaps to the side just in time for the female presence to make herself known. She shuffles past him, floating behind Sebastian and the memory of Joseph as they fight their way through the mental hospital, maintaining an apparently unnoticeable distance from them. Joseph frowns, then decides to follow along behind her.

Why isn’t she attacking? It’s like she’s leading Sebastian to something. She flutters behind while the memory plays out before all of them. Even despite her whispering Sebastian’s name and singing that same song behind him, he seems completely unaware of her.

Until, that is, the Joseph clone is overcome by the high-pitched wailing in his head and the pain in his body and attacks Sebastian. Joseph watches the look of fear in his former partner’s eyes, and his gut clenches as Sebastian wrenches him away. Any other guy and Sebastian would have put a bullet in their head. He’s somehow not angry. Just shocked and concerned. So unlike the Detective Castellanos Joseph is so used to working with.

Apparently, then is when the spectre decides to attack. The memory of Joseph fades away completely, and he’s replaced by her ghostly presence. She giggles obnoxiously and uses Sebastian’s confusion to her advantage. In an instant, she’s on him. Her hands are on his shoulders and her body towers over his. She leans in, her hair swimming around both their forms, and proceeds to quite literally devour the life force right from Sebastian’s body.

“No!” Joseph leaps forward and shoves her, and it actually works. He hears Sebastian’s body hit the ground and sees the ghost flutter sideways, her arm extended out to him. She catches his forearm, and even though her fingers are ice cold, the pain the contact brings feels like hellish flames licking at his skin.

She disappears, leaving Joseph standing in the middle of the street in Union with that pain still throbbing on his arm. He glances down at the limb, and his mouth falls open in shock at what he sees.

It’s clearly visible that there was a hand around his forearm. Long, thin finger marks trail around his skin, glowing bright white, like the color that had been in Sebastian’s eyes before this had all happened. Surrounding the glowing wound, his skin bubbles in parts, but it isn’t like the way burned skin bubbles. It’s like some sort of mutation.

Sebastian gasps behind Joseph, and he pulls his bunched-up sleeve down over his forearm before turning to regard the other man. Sebastian is lying on his side on the ground, trying to muster the strength to get up. Joseph drops to his knees and places a hand on his old partner’s shoulder, while Sebastian coughs and chokes as the air returns to his lungs.

“You’re okay, Seb,” Joseph urges softly, helping Sebastian to his feet. “Just breathe. Take your time.”

Sebastian does just that, one hand clasped around his throat. Joseph takes the short time he has to observe the man before him. Sebastian still has an appearance reminiscent to the man Joseph had been partners with for so long, but he’s changed. His hair has grown a little longer and messier and his eyes have gotten softer and more tired. All around, he looks less surly than he used to, and Joseph isn’t sure if that’s because he’s got the hope of finding his daughter keeping his shoulders high or some other factor.

He sure as hell doesn’t look as depressed and miserable as he had before.  It’s comforting to see. Makes Joseph feel good about the chances he’s providing this man in protecting him during his time inside STEM.

“Fuck…I thought she had me.” Sebastian’s voice is raspy, as if he really had been getting choked. The influence of this ghostly woman is strange and just as real as it is metaphorical. Like everything else inside STEM.

“Me too,” Joseph answers honestly.

Sebastian lights up visibly and clears his throat. “…You’re really here.” He takes a step toward Joseph, and Joseph very reluctantly steps backward and away from the hand extended toward him.

Well…time to put this idea into motion…

“No, I’m not.”


	3. Chapter 3

_“No, I’m not.”_

Sebastian feels dizzy, and it isn’t just because of the lack of oxygen supply to his lungs from the attack he just endured. His head is light and it almost feels as if the world around him is tilting slowly, shifting sideways like gelatin in an earthquake.

He just can’t process what Joseph has told him.

As if he’s not actually standing right in front of Sebastian right now. As if the man hadn’t just saved Sebastian’s life a moment ago, and again not long before that. As if he hadn’t physically reached out and helped Sebastian to his feet just now.

There’s no way he _can’t_ be real.

But Joseph looks so resolved in his statement, and now that Sebastian is looking him in the eyes, his expression is cold and distant. Not pensive and calculating like the Joseph he remembers so well.

“What the fuck _are_ you, then?” Sebastian asks a little harshly. “Is this more STEM bullshit?”

“Something like that,” Not-Joseph answers. “Maybe I’m your way of coping with what’s going on in here. Maybe I’m that little push you need to keep going. It’s _your_ mind, Sebastian. _You_ figure it out.”

“You think I’d fabricate a dead man out of thin air?” Sebastian scoffs, but the instant the words escape his lips, he realizes how good that actually sounds. Seeing Joseph here, real or not, is so incredibly uplifting that he can’t find the words for it. But God, why can’t he be real? Joseph would be such a big help in here, and if he were alive, he and Sebastian could get out of STEM together, take Lily with them, and be done with it.

On top of that, if he’s coming up with something in his head, it’s better for it to be Joseph, rather than the bottles of liquor that had called so sweetly to him back in the real world.

“Why wouldn’t you?” Not-Joseph asks, shrugging. “We’re partners. You’re stuck in here alone, expected to do something that sounds impossible. Of course you’d want your partner here to help you get through it.”

“…I would,” Sebastian admits, and he allows his shoulders to slump in a moment of weakness. “Even three years later, it still doesn’t feel the same without you—er, without Joseph.”

“Open your eyes, Seb,” the one that isn’t Joseph snaps coolly. “He’s dead. That’s how it is. You’ve got bigger things to worry about, like finding your daughter.”

Sebastian hates how right this man is. He doesn’t have all the time in the world. Lily is trapped with that Stefano asshole, and even though Sebastian is being stalked by that _thing,_ his daughter is still caught up in some jerk’s control. He’s got to save her, with or without Joseph.

“…So you’re supposed to be some supporting act I summoned up in my mind?” He asks. “You’re supposed to keep that persistent she-ghost off my ass?”

“That’s what it sounds like,” Not-Joseph answers with a shrug, twisting the wrist on his right arm and flexing his fingers as he speaks.

“Then I can trust you to keep her at bay while I get my daughter somewhere safe.”

“Appears so.” There’s a look on this not-quite-Joseph’s face that doesn’t make him seem all that fabricated to Sebastian. As if he’d had to think about his answer to that more than he wanted. But of course Sebastian’s mind would make him think that. He doesn’t _want_ a fake Joseph. But…want in one hand and shit in the other and see which fills up faster, he supposes.

“Sounds a whole goddamned lot like my partner,” Sebastian comments, a resolved smirk on his face. “I’m counting on you, then.”

And with that, he’s off. He’s got to take Hoffman’s advice and piss Stefano off to get into that theater and get his daughter back.

\--- --- --- --- ---

It’s almost too convenient how free Sebastian is from his ghostly stalker after his conversation with the Not-Joseph. As if the man is really keeping her away. And maybe he is, but surely coming up with something in his head like that isn’t enough. If it were, Sebastian would have done so a long time ago.

But he doesn’t give himself the chance to dwell on it much. The very first piece of Stefano’s art he finds lying around Union, he’s sucked into yet another hellscape, this one being Stefano’s doing. Sebastian only knows that because after being forced to hunt down a key to destroy the real piece of art, he’s now stuck hiding from that three-legged woman beast with a camera for a head that the deranged artist calls so affectionately, Obscura.

At the very least, she’s loud, so Sebastian can often tell when she’s far away. She isn’t very smart, but she’s incredibly fast, so if Sebastian is going to sneak past her, he has to do it quickly and carefully. He waits for her clanking footsteps and excited moaning to grow distant, and then sneaks out of the room. He’s got a long hallway to pass through without her finding him, though. In a way, he can tell she’s already looking for him. She knows he’s here—she just can’t see him.

Sebastian makes a mental one-two-three count in his head and then dashes down the hallway. He hears Obscura scream behind him, followed by rapid footsteps and the charging of a camera, and he squeezes his eyes shut.

Her attack just barely misses him, and he yelps out of pure shock. He curses loudly, wheels around, and shoots her camera-lens face point-blank. She rears back with a low moan and drops to the ground, but Sebastian knows he isn’t done with her. He’s not one hundred percent certain he can even kill her.

But with her down, he races for the gate, puts all his strength into wrenching it open, and sprints for the locked door not far from it. He can see one of Stefano’s grotesque sculptures waiting for him, and as he steps inside, it looks almost as if it’s waiting to be destroyed.

Of course, that’s not going to be the end of it. That just isn’t how STEM or Union or Mobius works. It isn’t how _Stefano_ works. As shocking as it sounds, that man somehow has the ability to make this place seem even more twisted than it already is, with his unconventional murders that he turns into art. How the guy finds any of what he’s constructing out of corpses _beautiful_ is beyond Sebastian’s comprehension.

The room goes dark, and when it lights back up, Sebastian finds himself surrounded by flickering wires. They’re rigged up in all kinds of different directions all across the expanse of the circular room. Stefano’s creation sits placidly in the center, frozen on display, taunting Sebastian. It’s as if the entire room is saying ‘ _come and get me_ ’, and of course, Sebastian is going to oblige.

The wires are hard to see, and Sebastian finds he has to take his time and peer through the darkness at all of them as he passes. He’s crouched down, shining his flashlight, as he ducks beneath some and sneaks around others. They’re everywhere, though, and he’s quickly growing frustrated. This is probably what Stefano wants. He wants Sebastian to take his time getting to that theater, so he can do whatever he wants with Lily’s power.

Sebastian is going to _kill_ him.

He doesn’t realize he’s come into contact with one of the wires until the shock rips its way through his body. It’s as he’s turning to look around. The wire grazes his throat, just beneath his jaw, and jolts him so abruptly that it sends him reeling. He stumbles backward, choking from the heat on his throat, and falls down onto another, which shocks straight through his back and spine. The next thing he knows, he’s on his stomach on the ground.

It hurts like hell. Pain ripples through what feels like every single nerve ending in Sebastian’s body, and he almost wants to throw up from the feeling. His body is shaking, and he can feel blood dribbling down from where the wire had touched his neck. His shirt is undoubtedly seared in the back. He struggles to catch his breath.

This is insane. If he’s supposed to have the apparent Joseph clone protecting him, where _is_ the guy? Is he seriously still staving off the witch stalking him? Can he not tell that Sebastian needs help right now?

For a moment, Sebastian legitimately attempts to call upon the Not-Joseph he’d seemingly created. He repeats his old partner’s name in his mind over and over, hoping against hope that it’ll do him some good, but nothing happens. The room stays dark around him, the wires continue to flicker threateningly, and Stefano’s art waits patiently for Sebastian to find a way to it.

It doesn’t matter, though, because Sebastian can’t just hope and wait. He’s got to get moving. He grunts through the pain and gets back up, crouched down, and almost instantly spots a path off to the right. The further away he gets from the door leading in, the further apart the wires seem. Sebastian somehow manages to creep through by hanging back toward the wall until he sees a route leading straight to the sculpture.

“Alright, Hoffman,” He growls, fishing his knife out of its holster. “I hope you’re right about this.”

The blade of the knife sinks into the sculpture like flesh. It’s different than when Sebastian attacks one of the monsters out prowling around in Union. They’re almost rotted. This is preserved, and it makes Sebastian a little uncomfortable to realize it’s like he’s stabbing the body of a human.

Not that he has much time to think about it, because soon enough, the sculpture ruptures right in front of him. It’s so sudden that Sebastian has no time to react, and before he knows it, he’s flying backward. He doesn’t have time to wonder if he’s going to be launched right into those flickering wires again, because he’s got no control.

A few blurry seconds later, he’s on his side on the ground outside of where he’d found Stefano’s first picture. His shoulder aches, and the spots where he’d been burned by wires are throbbing as he reorients himself. Despite the pain, he feels accomplished. Like he’s getting somewhere with all this.

“Destroying that freak’s art was actually therapeutic,” he muses to himself. And it’s true. It’s worth all the pain to slap a big ‘fuck you’ onto one of Stefano’s creations. But knowing this guy, just the one isn’t going to be enough. He’s got to find more. Until he knows that theater is open, he can’t stop.

When he steps out onto the streets of Union, there’s no haunting blue light and no Joseph. He can hear the distant growl of the creatures lurking nearby, but they’re far enough away that he actually has a second to take in the surroundings now. There isn’t much to this floating chunk of Union, so it isn’t like he’s going to end up lost, but if he were to, all he’d have to do is look up. Stefano’s massive aperture lens is staring right at the theater, almost as if keeping watch on it.

How is Lily doing? Is she alone? Does Stefano keep her with him at all times, or is he hiding her somewhere? Is she cold? Is she hurt? God, she had better not be hurt…

 _Why_ hadn’t Sebastian believed Myra when she’d told him all those years ago that Lily wasn’t dead? At the time, it’d made so much more sense for him to just accept that he’d lost his daughter, but Myra had always been so smart and intuitive. She’d been the better detective a hundred times over. He should have trusted her word more…

Sebastian lets his mind roam as he walks, scanning streets and buildings for any sign that Stefano might have been there. He’s so lost in thought that he isn’t prepared for what looks like a gigantic pulsing tree trunk to come plummeting down, right into the middle of the street. He just barely hops backward in time, his heart pounding out of his chest.

Sebastian recognizes the thing from when he’d confronted Stefano the first time, and if he traces up along it with his eyes, he knows it leads to that enormous lens staring down at the theater, but he doesn’t have time to do that in the first place. This time, the arrival of said limb spawns several more of the creatures Sebastian has been dealing with since he got here.

They’re not difficult to handle individually, but in groups, they’re a challenge. Sebastian manages to shoot one of them in the head, but another cuts in front of him and socks him right across the face. Sebastian recoils, ducking just in time to avoid another hit, and then sprints off. There aren’t many places to hide down this street, as most of the doors are blocked off with heavy locks with the Mobius logo painted onto them. Sebastian doesn’t know exactly why, but it doesn’t matter right now.

He makes a sharp right down the street, where a series of gunshots tell him he’s not alone in this section of Union.

\--- --- --- --- ---

Sebastian can’t sit idly by and let those things consume an actual, living human being. He doesn’t have it in him. It doesn’t feel right. So for the past probably handful of hours, he’s been saving this guy’s life and diving into the Marrow to turn some server on for him. It doesn’t get him to Lily any faster, but it promises him a chance at some extra ammo that might help him expedite said goal.

The man’s name is Julian Sykes, and Sebastian knows him from the information Kidman sent him when he’d first entered STEM. He seems like a nice guy, and Sebastian is rewarded considerably for helping him out. Sykes’ mission is to get out of STEM. He’s no longer loyal to Mobius and whatever crazy things they’ve got going on here. Sebastian feels a little more trusting of him on that principle alone.

But right now, he’s got to get back to finding his daughter. He thanks Sykes and snags up a pack of cigarettes he finds on a shelf on his way out.

During his attempt to rescue Sykes from his attackers, the two men had taken out a lot of the creatures that had been roaming about. The streets are a little more peaceful right now, save for one or two of them ambling around. Sebastian ignores them and jogs beyond a corner to the right. His communicator buzzes, and when Sebastian pulls it from his belt, he sees that it’s directing him to a bar called the Devil’s Own Taproom.

He’s long-since learned that his communicator points out things of high importance to him. Weapons, ammo, Mobius operatives, and even places that might be relevant to him. So naturally, he follows it inside the bar.

And he’s glad he did. He finds a lighter on a table nearby and snags it, then explores the rest of the bar. In the back room, where Sebastian assumes supplies had been stocked at some point, there’s a single portrait hanging up on the wall. It’s similar to the one back at the hotel where he’d found the first one. So he just dives right in—sticks his hand out toward the picture and waits for his body to be swallowed up inside.

This one’s easier than the last: a crowd of weaker enemies spread far enough that Sebastian can pick them off one by one until he reaches his goal. The area is a tiny labyrinth, where Stefano takes it upon himself to do a little storytelling, and by the time Sebastian is back in one of those wire-ridden rooms, ducking around and away from imminent electrical shock, he knows at least part of how Obscura came to be.

Thankfully, he doesn’t spend too long in there. He’s getting used to peeking around the wires and searching out routes to Stefano’s twisted sculptures, and in half the time it took him during his last encounter, he’s worked his way up to the frozen work of art and sliced his knife right down the back of it.

When he hits the ground this time, he doesn’t move. The air feels a little lighter, now, and Sebastian knows it’s because he’s done what he was supposed to do. Hoffman’s suggestion worked, and Stefano is probably just hiding away in that theater, waiting for Sebastian to show himself. Well, he’s going to.

Lying there on the floor, Sebastian lights up a cigarette. He doesn’t normally smoke menthols, but the taste takes the edge off of all the stress and pain he’s been suffering here, inside STEM. He gives himself a few seconds to enjoy it. His eyes fall shut.

“Really, Seb?”

Sebastian opens his eyes to find Joseph…er, Not-Joseph…standing over him, bent down, with his hands on his hips. His lips are flattened out in a line, as if he’s unimpressed. “Smoking? Right now?”

“You’re a hallucination,” Sebastian grunts, sitting upright. Despite the comment, Not-Joseph shifts backward and steps out of his way. “You don’t get to tell me what to do.”

“If you’re going to call me that,” the partner clone responds matter-of-factly, “maybe you should take into account that it’s technically _you_ telling you what to do. Maybe you know in the back of your mind that you haven’t got time for this.”

“I can smoke and walk at the same time.” Sebastian proves his point by starting out of the back room and toward the front door. “Aren’t you supposed to be helping me avoid that ghost woman?”

“She’s not around right now.” Not-Joseph is following Sebastian, and he continues to do so even as Sebastian enters the street. “I can’t find her. She targets you, so I figured the best place to be looking for her was _around_ you.”

“I haven’t seen her, either,” Sebastian thinks aloud, puffing away. He snuffs it out at about the halfway mark and breaks in a jog toward the Theater. “I figured I had you to thank for that.”

“Not yet,” the lookalike answers, still moving alongside Sebastian diligently. “I haven’t seen her since we last spoke. She probably knows I’m getting in her way. She could be regrouping.”

“She doesn’t strike me as the planning type,” Sebastian adds. “Besides, if you couldn’t find her, I really could’ve used your help just a bit ago.”

“I’m a hallucination, not a bodyguard,” Not-Joseph retorts around a shrug. “What happened?”

“Got my ass fried on some wires,” Sebastian replies. “Stefano was guarding his sick excuses for art with them.”

“Stefano?” Not-Joseph’s voice sounds genuinely confused, and Sebastian stops jogging for a moment.

“If you come from my mind, you should know who he is.”

“Not necessarily,” the other man says, looking thoughtful. “The last time you saw Joseph, it was at Beacon. It’s possible you subconsciously created me with memories pertaining to that last time. That said, I don’t know much, so I’d love if you filled me in.”

At the very least, Sebastian knows he created this version of Joseph to be just as intelligent and mentally capable as the man he’d been partnered with for so long. He appreciates that.

They continue moving toward the theater, jogging around the giant tree-trunk-appendage in the street, and Sebastian explains what he knows so far. That Mobius had abducted his daughter and made her the Core of the STEM here, in Union. That she’d all of a sudden gone missing, and STEM had started to collapse. That a team of Mobius operatives had been sent in to find her, but hadn’t come back.

He tells the Not-Joseph about everyone he’s encountered so far. O’Neal, Sykes, Hoffman, Stefano…the disturbing art he’s had to witness from the latter.

They’re not far from the entrance to the theater, which Sebastian can now see is open and waiting for him, when the fabricated Joseph decides to ask about what happened during the three years between Beacon and now.

Sebastian answers as if he’s talking to his best friend and partner again. “The KCPD made me see a shrink. Told me I was traumatized by what happened, even though they didn’t believe my story. I talked to so many people, and my story didn’t change. I guess they either thought I was too batshit to keep on the force or just beyond help, because they sacked me.”

“You got fired?” Even though he’s not the real Joseph, the man looks genuinely shocked. “That’s insane. What did you do?”

“I decided to track down Mobius,” Sebastian answers. “They’re damn near impossible to find. Kidman says you only find them if they want you to. After so long searching for them, I believe her. Eventually, I gave up. Slipped back into my old habits. Kidman found me at a bar. Kind of a slap in the face after spending so long trying to find her, you know?”

“You started drinking again?” Not-Joseph frowns.

“Don’t start,” Sebastian cuts him off. “Besides, you’re not real. You shouldn’t care.”

“Yeah, well,” the clone retorts, eyes narrowed, “I do, Seb. Maybe it means you know you shouldn’t do it. Maybe there’s some part of you who knows how slippery a slope that is.”

“You’re not gonna counsel me about this right now, goddamn it.” Sebastian is almost at the front door to the Theater. “You died. My wife went missing. I thought my daughter was dead, and my job was yanked right out from under my feet. What else did I have?”

Sebastian feels the silence more than he hears it. He glances back toward the fabricated Joseph, whose gaze is focused on him. He looks apologetic, but also as though he can’t find the words. His mouth falls open and shut repeatedly, and then he just lets it close and swallows down a lump in his throat.

“Joseph…” Sebastian feels a little guilty. He wasn’t trying to make anyone feel bad for him. Of _course_ he knows he shouldn’t be drinking, but that’s a different topic for a different time. Right now, he’s got things to do, and it isn’t like he’s drinking at the moment.

Conveniently enough, they don’t get the chance to keep talking. Blue sweeps around them and covers the expanse of this side of Union. Not-Joseph steels himself and turns around, facing back toward the street as that familiar, ghostly voice’s singing surrounds them once more. He balls his hands into fists and takes a step away from the theater.

“I can handle her. You focus on getting Lily back.”

“Right,” Sebastian agrees. “Thank you.” He turns his focus back to the entrance to the Theater, and then pushes the double doors open and steps inside.

For a flicker of a moment, Sebastian contemplates how Not-Joseph hadn’t known anything about Union, but had somehow known that Sebastian was supposed to be seeking out his daughter. A daughter that the Joseph he created in his mind shouldn’t have known was still alive. It doesn’t add up, but not much in STEM ever does, and with Lily so prevalent in Sebastian’s mind, maybe he’d been unable to leave out that much information.

Not that it matters right now.

Please, let Lily be safe…


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introduced an original character into this one. He's not going to be around all the time, but he's still pretty important to Joseph's character development. Hope you like!

Joseph doesn’t look back as Sebastian enters the theater. His focus remains on the creature coming toward him. He still doesn’t have a full grasp on what his abilities are supposed to be regarding fighting this thing off, but he supposes he’ll figure it out with time. With how often this woman is on Sebastian, following him around, Joseph figures he’s got plenty of time to gain experience.

He moves defiantly toward her, and she stops and turns her focus to him. Her singing stops and a trembling noise something like a gasp escapes her. She cocks her head as he approaches, and even though she isn’t moving right now, her dress and hair continue to flutter around her like she’s got her own personal aura.

The blue surrounding this portion of Union tells Joseph she does.

For a moment, both of them are busy taking the sight of one another in. Joseph gets to see up close just how tall this woman is. Her feet are flat on the ground, but she towers over him by at least a foot and a half. Her hair doesn’t completely obscure her face, but even despite that, Joseph can’t make out any details. It’s not quite that it’s blurry, either. It’s almost as if it doesn’t exist at all. Joseph can make out red lips and something like a smirk, but that’s it.

She’s got long fingers and ashen skin that looks as if it’s flaked off in parts. It goes almost too well with the tattered dress she’s wearing, and it reminds Joseph alarmingly of the paint that flaked off the walls in the dilapidated Beacon Mental Hospital.

“What’s your angle?” Joseph asks her, his shoulders pitched and his hands still tightened into fists. “You’re following Sebastian. You want to show him something. You send him to the past. It’s like you want him to know something, but at the same time, you want him dead.” Joseph has already made the connection between the Lost Phenomenon and Sebastian’s current state of being pursued, but he still questions this thing like it might make it a little clearer. “Are you the reason for all the monsters in here? Did _you_ make them? Are you trying to turn Seb into one of them?”

Of _course_ she is. Chances are, she doesn’t even understand what she’s supposed to be doing. She’s just another mindless creature in here, incapable of processing her own purpose. Right now, it’s just ‘ _Sebastian, Sebastian, Sebastian_ ’, and Joseph gets that. But still, to have a moment to ask…it’s kind of nice.

The ghostly figure tips her head to the other side and repeats after Joseph. Her voice up close is even louder and more haunting, and Joseph isn’t quite sure how to handle it. “ _…SEB…”_

“That’s right,” Joseph responds curiously, reaching up to push his glasses back up onto his nose. “That’s my nickname for him. As you can probably tell, he’s important to me. And he’s trying to save someone very important to him in here. It’d be nice if you gave him a chance to do that.”

No, he doesn’t think trying to convince this woman to leave Sebastian alone is actually going to work. But it _is_ buying his old partner some time in the theater. She seems plenty distracted and interested enough to give Joseph the time of day, which is a good sign. Joseph will take what he can get.

But just when Joseph thinks he’s got her where he wants her, she suddenly rears a hand back, then snaps it forward to close her long fingers around his neck. He feels her pick him up, the concrete disappearing from beneath his feet, and then she screams that same nickname he’d just taught her and the sheer force of her voice makes Joseph’s vision quiver. It’s like he’s caught up in some sort of whirlwind. The concrete and the distant buildings and the blue aura around both of them comingle and become one, to the point where Joseph can’t make sense of any of it.

He can’t breathe, and he can’t see, and the pain of those fingers around his neck is excruciating. He tries to scream, but the only sound that comes out is a garbled choking noise.

And then, she lets him go. He drops straight down, into a sea of black, and when he finally makes contact with some kind of ground, his legs are weak and he crumples onto his side. He’s gasping hard, his breathing ragged as he struggles to give his lungs the needed oxygen to help him function normally. His hand is on his throat, which feels icy cold, and he swears his esophagus is crystallized.

But somehow, by some miracle, he’s breathing normally in a handful of seconds. Weakly, he pushes himself up onto his shaky legs and looks around.

He’s standing right behind himself, in an office he recognizes too well. Internal Affairs was a cold, uncomfortable office. Everything was so neat and organized to a fault. Joseph, even being as well-kept as he always was, had felt out of place in there. It had been so different from Sebastian’s office, even before Sebastian had faced all his trauma and gone downhill.

He watches the version of himself from all those years ago pass a thin pile of stapled paperwork across the desk, to a man in a suit that is too black for the gray and green and brown colors in the room.

“You’re turning your own partner in?” The man asks, and the Joseph from the past releases a long sigh.

“I don’t have a choice. He’s going to kill himself at this rate.”

“You do realize that depending on what we find, this could cost him his job, right?”

“…I’m aware. Just remember that he’s a good detective.” Past-Joseph squares his shoulders and flattens his lips into a line. “Probably the best one you guys have at this point. I’d suggest you take into heavy consideration all the good he’s done before you decide to take disciplinary action on him.”

“I fail to understand why you’re reporting him if you don’t want him dealt with,” the man responds.

Joseph remembers being so angry about that comment. He hadn’t _wanted_ to turn Sebastian in. It had just been that he’d tried his damnedest to bring Sebastian back to the surface on his own, but when nothing was working and the man had seemed to be sinking deeper and deeper into his own anguish, he had gotten desperate.

And in a way, it had worked. Turning Sebastian in had opened his eyes. It had kept him on edge, and reminded him to take it easy, at least on work days. After all of that, he’d come in smelling like alcohol less each day, and while his work had always been good even when he’d been drinking more heavily, he seemed more focused afterward.

He never quite stopped drinking, but at least Joseph hadn’t been afraid he was going to find him dead from alcohol poisoning one day anymore.

“I just want him to be okay,” the Joseph from the past responds curtly. “I’m looking out for my partner.” As he walks out of the office, the scene surrounding Joseph fades completely. A whooshing sound flows in all around him, and then by some invisible force that feels like wind, Joseph is knocked forward and everything goes black again.

He doesn’t remember losing consciousness, but when he opens his eyes again, it’s to a headache and blurred vision. He’s sitting on some sort of carpet. The room around him smells like alcohol.

When he’s able to see straight again, it’s to another memory Joseph is all too familiar with. He stays put on his bottom on the ground as he watches the memory of himself pace across the living room, to the armchair Sebastian is currently resting in. He’s got the neck of a bottle hanging loosely in his fingers, his half-lidded gaze focused on the television.

The Joseph from back then removes the bottle from Sebastian’s fingers and places it on the nearby coffee table. “Sebastian, look at me.”

Joseph still remembers the dull ache in the pit of his stomach when Sebastian had looked up at him that night. His eyes had been so cold and tired and the alcohol in his system had made his stare so distant. He looked as if he didn’t have the energy to move. He’d been doing better, but everyone had their cycles, and this must have been Sebastian’s downturn.

“I wish you’d let me know when you plan on doing this,” Past-Joseph sighs and makes his way into the kitchen. He returns with a glass of water and closes Sebastian’s fingers around it.

Sebastian lets it droop for a moment, but eventually raises it to his lips and takes a sip. “I don’t plan this kind of thing out, Joseph.”

 _‘Of course you don’t_ ,’ Joseph thinks affectionately as he watches the display. He recalls his own concern getting the better of him and making him angry a lot back then. As if Sebastian were doing it to taunt him. At the time, he was a little selfish himself about it, letting his own concern for Sebastian get under his skin.

The past Joseph doesn’t say anything. He just takes a seat on the couch and watches the television, his attention shifting to Sebastian every few seconds. Even in his inebriated state, Sebastian notices.

“You don’t have to babysit me,” he grunts. “I can take care of myself.”

“I’m not babysitting you,” Past-Joseph answers around a sigh. “I just want to make sure you’re going to be alright for the night.”

“And if I’m not?” Sebastian quips, his gaze focused on the television before him. “You gonna turn me in again?”

Joseph sees the flicker of anger in his past self’s expression. Watches him get to his feet. Sebastian doesn’t so much as glance at him, and the tension in the air makes Joseph more uncomfortable than when he was actually there.

“You know what?” The memory of Joseph starts. “Fine. Drink yourself stupid. But don’t for a second think that any of this is getting you anywhere. You lost your wife and child, I get it. And I’m so sorry for you, Sebastian. You’ve got no idea how hard it is to see you like this. They made you happy, and suddenly, you’re sinking. You lost _everything_. And I know I’m not your wife or your child, but I’m your damned _partner_. You’re my _best friend_. Seeing you like this is harder for me than any case we’ve ever worked.”

He steps back, away from Sebastian. “I’ll leave you alone, but don’t forget I’m here. I turned you in because you were worrying me. Because I don’t want you to die over this. Myra and Lily sure wouldn’t have wanted that for you.”

There’s no fade-to-black there. Joseph just finds himself back in Union, surrounded by blue, the ghostly woman standing in front of him. At some point during his stupor, he has fallen to his knees. His throat hurts. His chest aches. He feels…miserable.

The ghostly figure flutters back a foot or two, an almost childish giggle escaping her, before she extends her arms and she and the blue scenery dissipate completely.

His communicator buzzes. He raises it to his ear.

“Joseph?” Kidman’s voice is almost a relief after all that just happened.

“Yeah, I’m here,” Joseph answers, still trying to clear the burn from his throat.

“Where’s Sebastian? I can’t locate his signal.”

“He’s dealing with some guy named Stefano right now,” Joseph responds. What he’s not expecting is for Kidman to start lecturing him after that.

“You were told to stay away from him unless it was absolutely necessary.”

…Christ. So they really _can_ track signal locations, then. Joseph lets out a raspy sigh. “It _was_ necessary. Sebastian got attacked again, and when the thing chasing him disappeared from my sight, I assumed it was following him, so what better place to look? But you’ll be comforted to know he doesn’t think I’m real.”

“…Excuse me?” Kidman doesn’t sound convinced.

“I’ve got him thinking he fabricated me in his own mind,” Joseph explains. “It’s easy enough when you’re here in STEM. Sebastian probably thinks a lot more here is a product of his own mind, too.”

“Well…I can’t argue against that logic.” Juli sighs.

“You shouldn’t,” Joseph replies concisely. “And to be honest, you’re a little unrealistic thinking he’s going to let anything get in the way of him finding his daughter. Myself included.”

“Maybe,” Kidman agrees. “But you’re special to him, too. Trust me on that.”

Joseph doesn’t trust much of anything Kidman says, but he sees no reason to argue with her on this one. Rather, he just shrugs and cuts the call off there. At the very least, it sounds like he’s got permission to be closer to Sebastian now. He’ll have to be careful about what he says, but it’s good to know he can be there as needed.

He turns his focus back to the theater. Sebastian is still inside there. Joseph can sense some level of chaos within, so he jogs toward it. He doesn’t get far, though, because once he reaches a certain point, it’s like it’s walled off by some invisible force. Joseph collides with nothing at all, and he can’t breach whatever barrier is keeping him outside of the theater.

He focuses, trying to draw himself to Sebastian like he had so many times before. Closes his eyes and thinks hard about how he hopes the other man is alright and just wants to check up on him, but nothing happens. He’s just…stuck.

Joseph backs away from the invisible barrier, confusion etched onto his face. What does he do now? Is Sebastian alright? Come to think of it, his signal hasn’t shown up on Joseph’s communicator in a while…

God, please let him be okay…

Joseph hears the click of a gun behind him. He brings his hands into the air on instinct, still facing away.

“You’re not Mobius,” A raspy male voice says. “And you don’t look like any of the Union guinea pigs, either. So who the fuck _are_ you?”

“Joseph Oda,” Joseph answers calmly, his hands still raised. “I’m not Mobius, but I was sent in here to help restore the Core.” It’s not entirely the truth, but he doesn’t need to go on telling Sebastian’s whereabouts to this guy, so it’s close enough. “I’m not even armed, so how about you lower your gun?”

There’s a pause, before the man does exactly as requested. Joseph turns around slowly, and he doesn’t drop his hands until he’s facing the guy.

Said guy doesn’t look like he’s from Mobius, either. The way he talked about Union, Joseph has a feeling he’s not involved here, either. So what’s he doing here now?

He’s several inches taller than Joseph, with dark blond hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. He sports a grey T-shirt with some sports logo on it that Joseph doesn’t recognize, tattered dark blue jeans, and black work boots. His face is unshaven, but hasn’t quite reached the point of a beard, yet. Joseph can’t tell in this darkness what color the man’s eyes are, but the shade is definitely dark.

“Alright, then.” Joseph nods to him. “Your turn. Who are you?”

“Russell Laskin,” the man answers, sliding his gun into a holster on his thigh. “Former Mobius operative on protective detail. Shit hit the fan, I learned they don’t give a damn about me, so I went rogue.”

Joseph frowns. “They can’t tell you did that?”

Russell shrugs. “They probably think I’m dead. I removed my chip once I got the chance.” He tips his head, where an ugly scar just behind his right ear seems to still be healing. It looks dangerously close to infected, though. Joseph winces a little at it.

“…Chip? Actually, you know what? That doesn’t matter. You need that cleaned up.” Joseph nods toward a nearby safe house, at a place called Post Plus.

“It matters a whole helluva lot more than you think, kiddo.” Despite his argument, Russell obeys and strides alongside Joseph toward the building. “You’ve probably got one, too. You don’t know about it because they didn’t want you to. Not a lot of people do. You screw up once and they’ll use it to kill you. It just takes one push of a button.”

Joseph reaches behind his right ear, feeling for anything out of the ordinary. Sure enough, there is something different about the skin there. It feels as if there isn’t any scarring, but there’s definitely something small and square underneath his skin. He scowls. So, if he doesn’t do as they want, they could use this to kill him? Jesus…

They both enter the safe house, and Joseph immediately seeks out a first aid kit. He doesn’t find much other than some peroxide and gauze, but that’s probably all he’ll be needing, anyway. Russell takes a seat on the edge of a desk next to the computer leading into the Marrow, and Joseph gets to work.

“So, do you trust them?” Russell asks out of the blue. He doesn’t flinch when Joseph starts to clean his skin.

“Hmm?” Joseph doesn’t stop dabbing peroxide on the spot behind Russell’s ear.

“Mobius. They sent you in here. Did you go willingly?”

“Depends on your definition of ‘willingly’,” Joseph answers honestly. “I don’t trust them for a second. Three years ago, they put a close friend of mine and I through hell in another STEM. But they needed someone to help get the Core situation straightened out, and for some reason, they still had me in their control, so…here I am.”

“Another STEM?” Russell frowns. “Are you talking about Beacon?”

“You know about Beacon?” Joseph backs up, disposing of the dirty gauze in a trash can.

“I’ve got connections, so I know more about it than I should. One of my buddies on the team’s good about getting into databases. He knows more about Mobius than he’ll probably tell anyone. Even me.” Despite this information, Russell looks proud of what he’s saying. “But he did tell me about Beacon. About Sebastian Castellanos—the guy who survived an earlier, more temperamental STEM. That’s the other guy working to restore the Core, right?”

“That’d be him.” Joseph doesn’t see any reason to lie to this guy anymore. He very clearly isn’t loyal to Mobius, after all. Maybe he can be of some help. “The Core is his daughter. I doubt he’ll just turn her back on and make her put Union back together, though.”

“Sounds like a damn good dad to me,” Russell observes with a smile that doesn’t really fit on his rough, square features. “Is that why you were at the theater?”

“Yeah, sort of.” Joseph frowns. “He’s stuck there right now. I can’t get in there to get him. Something’s blocking the way.”

For a moment, Russell looks pensive, but he stops dead in his tracks before he can say anything.

The ground is rumbling. Joseph and his new acquaintance glance down at the ground, and then back up at one another, before they both go tearing out of the building. Right out the exit, they have a view of the theater, and said theater is quite literally trembling right now. It feels like an earthquake, and without thinking, Joseph speeds toward the theater.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” Russell roars behind him.

“Sebastian’s in there!” Joseph is prepared to try and force himself through the barrier all over again, but surprisingly, he cuts right through. One moment, he’s propelling himself off of concrete with each step. The next, he’s hovering over thin air.

Below him, it looks like a torn-apart puzzle. He plummets through the air, passing different shades of angry red that almost look like curtains, until he lands hard on what looks like the remains of a piece of hallway flooring. There are chunks strewn out all over the place and suspended in midair, twisted at angles that seem impossible to cross. But somehow, Joseph knows he has to do it.

He leaps from one chunk to the next, colliding hard on his back when gravity shifts. It takes some effort to get back to his feet, but he does so anyway. He jogs forward, finding another gap he has to jump. He lands on his feet this time, but the surfaces are starting to crumble around him. Whatever this setup is, it isn’t going to last long.

Joseph makes a break for it. He jumps almost erratically from broken piece to broken piece, stumbling through change in gravity after change in gravity, until he sees a doorway at the end. He’s almost there. Just a few more steps…

Sebastian bursts out the door before he can get through, and the environment shifts. Joseph stumbles back, collapsing onto the ground. They seem to be in the theater’s auditorium now. Where the door Sebastian had just gone through once was, there’s just the tall red curtain toward the back of the stage.

Instantly, he can tell that Sebastian can’t see him.

A little girl screams.

Joseph finds himself looking right at a very familiar Lily Castellanos. She’s dressed in her pajamas, her wide eyes fixed on her father.

“Don’t be afraid, honey,” Sebastian reassures, holstering his gun. “It’s me…Dad.”

“No…No, you’re not!” Lily whimpers, taking a step back. “Dad is dead!”

Lily thinks her father is dead? Joseph figures he shouldn’t be surprised. If Mobius kidnapped her, getting her to comply was probably easier by giving her the impression that she didn’t have a home to go back to in the first place. He wonders if they told her the same about Myra.

Sebastian shakes his head, a frown etched deep onto his face. Joseph thinks it must hurt for Sebastian’s own daughter to be afraid of him because she’s not actually sure it _is_ him. Either way, he hops down from the stage into the aisles, where Lily had at one point been. Now, the little girl has gone off somewhere into the seats, hiding.

Sebastian doesn’t give up. He calls out to her. “Honey, I know that’s what they told you, but it’s not true! Lily, please…I…”

He sounds lost. Hurt. Afraid. Worried about his daughter and probably genuinely shocked that she’s so close and yet so far away. Joseph’s heart aches for the both of them as he pushes himself up to his feet.

“Come out, Lily!” Sebastian begs as he passes through the aisles, looking around. His voice drops into one of desperation. “You don’t have to hide.”

The auditorium falls silent, and Joseph finds himself glancing about the area in search of Lily. It almost feels as if she might change her mind and come out to see her father, but then, the theater starts to shake.

Sebastian pulls his gun back from the holster and points it at the door across the auditorium, where just as Joseph glances at it, he can see it literally melting away into some sort of white substance. A cloaked figure emerges, and for a second, Joseph’s heart freezes in his chest.

That almost looks like Ruvik.

Thankfully, it’s not. But the figure doesn’t look any less ominous. It’s feminine in shape, and its entire body seems coated in the same white that the door had melted into. The figure stops a few seats down and turns to the right, looking straight down at what Joseph knows has to be Lily’s hiding place.

Her voice is the last one Joseph expected to hear.

“Come to mother, Lily,” the woman with the voice of Myra Castellanos says, pulling her hood back. “I will protect you.”

Joseph rushes to Sebastian’s side, even though he knows he can’t be seen. He glances up at his partner, who looks a mixture of shocked and relieved. Wide, amber eyes are focused on the figure that so resembles his wife. “…Myra?”

The woman lashes out. “Get away! You can’t have her!”

All hell breaks loose. The theater begins to crumble, and some sort of bubbling, white creature surfaces from the gap the rubble creates. One of its appendages sends both Sebastian and Joseph flying backward. They stumble to their feet, and Sebastian sprints forward, calling out to his daughter. The creature that so resembles Myra can be seen in the white monster’s grip, and a glance downward shows that it has Lily, too. They’re both descending into the gaping hole in the middle of the collapsing theater.

Joseph speeds after Sebastian, who runs for the edge. He hollers out to whatever has his wife and daughter, and then the earth around him crumbles, and he’s sent plummeting down.

“Oh my god!” Joseph throws himself forward, hoping to catch Sebastian’s wrist, but instead, he ends up tumbling down into the gigantic black chasm as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're coming up on a period where I'll have to graze over a decent amount of canon scenes. There will be plenty of original sequences during the course of this too, but I figured I'd give you all a warning, haha. 
> 
> Hope you continue to enjoy despite this!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this chapter was tough to write. 
> 
> Writing canon scenes in shows and videogames is literally the bane of my existence. I always get the feeling that it's going to become redundant and boring to readers, but when I tried to condense it down, it just felt too rushed. I ended up splitting this chapter into two. I'll have the second part up probably today or tomorrow, and I've already got most of the chapter after that written. 
> 
> So now that I've breached the hard part--also known as the canon scenes--we're well on our way again! Sorry for the heavy canon-involvement in the next two chapters. Please bear with me! Thanks again for reading!

When Sebastian awakens, he doesn’t immediately recognize where he is. He’s leaning forward onto what feels like a desk. He feels as if he’d gotten hit by a truck, but the pain is dull, like it’s been there for quite some time. He doesn’t know how long he’s been out.

Wait…the theater. Sebastian had found Lily. And then…

“Myra…?” He sits up and recognizes his office. His _Room_ , rather, with the pictures of Mobius operatives off to his right and the drawing from his daughter to his left.

Myra is in here…alive.

“ _I’ll be out here for you…and someone else will be_ in there _for you.”_

…Kidman has known about Myra this whole time. She knew Myra was in here…Sebastian has got to call her. He’s got to talk to her more about this.

He reaches for his communicator, but the instant he sees the screen, he knows he’s not going to be able to do anything. Instead, he’s greeted to a flickering wavelength and an audio, the low, masculine voice of which he doesn’t recognize.

_“But I can be silenced…if you let me in.”_

Sebastian frowns at the malfunctioning screen and turns the knob on the side of the communicator in an attempt to tune it so that he can hear better. It doesn’t do much good, though, and Sebastian curses under his breath when he realizes he’s not getting anywhere with it. He contemplates lighting a cigarette, but something through the door leading out of his office catches his attention and distracts him away from that thought.

Several flickering lights outside, where the mirror once sat. Candles. They decorate the entire area outside of his office, including the station where he charges his communicator. The cat doesn’t seem to notice the difference, as it’s curled up, fast asleep, on the table. The slide projector glows innocently as ever, still waiting to be used.

Sebastian doesn’t pay this any mind. He’s more preoccupied by the blood and candles where the mirror used to be. Most of the candles are strewn around a threatening puddle of red, and behind all of it there’s some sort of altar, with a display Sebastian finds oddly familiar. The weird markings drawn all around are reminiscent of the ones he’d seen back in Beacon, but not quite the same. The differences are few and far between, though.

But that doesn’t make this whole experience any less strange, and it gives Sebastian a heightened sense of anxiety. His Room doesn’t feel all that safe anymore. And without the mirror, how is he supposed to leave?

And then he spots the doll. One of Lily’s dolls. It’s lying face-down on the altar, but his daughter is nowhere to be seen. Sebastian hopes against hope that it’s not symbolic as he reaches for the doll.

His fingers don’t even get the chance to close around it before the world changes around him. The Room disappears entirely, giving way to a sea of darkness. There are pillars scattered in the distance, and a deep, threatening growl resonates through the area. Sebastian can see several creatures that look like hulking figures constructed from volcanic rock, but they’re far enough away that he doesn’t run on the onset.

Until one of them is right in front of his face. It appears so suddenly that the only thing Sebastian thinks to do is shield his face with his arm. The creature roars and swings, but nothing happens. When Sebastian opens his eyes again, he’s standing in some sort of…catacombs?

He knows he’s underground. The strange markings from the altar are hanging up everywhere, and candles and that glowing, fiery light illuminate the entirety of the brick-constructed area. Another altar stands before him.

“…Where is this place…?” He narrows his eyes at the altar he’s standing in front of—particularly, the tall symbol that stands up atop it. “This symbol looks familiar…like I’ve seen it in the real world.”

In the distance, Sebastian can hear voices. They sound like the grunts and groans and whines of the things the STEM collapse is turning the people here into. On instinct, Sebastian checks the clip on his pistol, and then gets to looking around. In this first room are a multitude of unnerving things. Holes in the ground, coffins strewn about, burned bodies lying in the holes instead of the coffins. The entirety of the room looks like it’s seen better days, with its damaged walls and rubble scattered about.

Sebastian doesn’t spend much time in there. Instead, he heads for a door not far from the altar and pushes it open. He manages to get all of five feet into the new hallway before his head starts to pound and darkness swims around him, giving him just enough visibility to see the direct path laid out before him.

He raises a hand to his head, cradling the aching spot in his temple, when a voice fills his ears.

“ _Welcome, Seeker.”_ It sounds as if it’s coming from all around Sebastian, and he also takes note of the fact that it’s the same voice he heard on his communicator not long before he ended up here. _“You have come for answers. I am here to help you.”_

The voice fades and takes the dull throbbing in Sebastian’s skull with it. Light fills the stone hallway once more. Sebastian feels out of breath. “…Who…What was that?”

The hallway spills out into a room with some sort of metal containers in it. They’re too small to be cells fit for humans, but there’s nothing in them, so Sebastian isn’t sure what they’re about. He decides it’s probably just easier to avoid the room altogether. Thankfully, he can see enough now that when he backtracks into the hallway again, there’s a path off to his left. He takes it. It leads into a smaller room with two doors. An open gate on the left, and a closed door straight ahead.

This place already feels like a labyrinth. Sebastian settles on turning left again, since he’s not sure what lurks beyond closed doors and doesn’t plan on taking them if he doesn’t have to.

When he steps past the gate, Sebastian almost feels like he’s been thrown back in time. The room he’s in looks just like some sort of torture chamber. There are bodies encased in metal cages suspended from the ceiling and tied up in chairs with spikes on the backrest. A charred corpse rests on a table at the far end of the room.

Where in the fuck _is_ Sebastian right now? He doesn’t have time for this. He can only imagine what Lily would think if she came through here.

That thought alone has him beelining through the room and out the door across it. He’s led down a few stairs and into a hallway with more gates.

This seems to be the trend for a while. Pass through hallways, open a gate, make a slight left or right turn. Even though Sebastian still can’t get the word ‘labyrinth’ out of his mind, the path actually seems quite straightforward.

The voices of the creatures that he’d thought he’d heard seem perpetually far away, and even as Sebastian encounters a room that’s swarming with them, it still seems like there are more in the distance. It’s almost as if that’s just the general ambience down here. Why in the fuck there would be a catacombs in _this_ STEM is beyond Sebastian…

The voice confronts him again as he finds a ladder at the end of a hallway.

 _“You must go deep to find what you seek,”_ it tells him. “ _Only by descending can you rise again._ ”

Almost as if planned by that mysterious voice, the ladder Sebastian is climbing down snaps right in the middle and sends him plummeting. He lands hard on his back on the concrete ground. It knocks the air from his lungs, and for a few seconds, he’s fighting the urge to pass out. He rolls onto his side and manages to get to his knees. It takes some effort, but he’s soon on his feet. As he works to catch his breath, he walks forward to the only gate available to him.

_“You lost everything.”_

Sebastian’s in a hallway again, and his head aches once more. The darkness sweeps in on him, as if whoever is speaking to him wants his only focus to be on what’s being said.

_“Your failure to regain it led to inaction, which led to despair. And despair led to self-destruction.”_

This guy is starting to sound like some sort of religious leader. A religious leader who somehow knows way too damned much about Sebastian’s past for his own comfort. The words spoken haunt him, bringing to him reflections on the past. Seeing Lily’s funeral paper…the misery on his wife’s face when he hadn’t believed her about Lily…drinking himself stupid in some run-down bar…

Sebastian glances up just in time to see a figure standing in the distance. A tall figure, probably a hundred feet or so away, with its hands folded in front of it. Sebastian feels watched. He feels uncomfortable.

_THUD._

Sebastian isn’t sure where the sound is coming from, but it surrounds him entirely. Makes him feel like the catacombs are going to start trembling violently any second.

_THUD._

The figure doesn’t move.

_“You are your own downfall.”_

_THUD._

Gravity shifts around Sebastian, and the next thing he knows, it’s like the hallway he was just standing in has transformed into an elevator shaft. He freefalls backward so rapidly that the scream that’s ripped up from his lungs soon becomes nothing. He whirls around to try and see where he’s headed, just in time to land on his stomach on more concrete.

Everything hurts. Sebastian’s eyes are rolling back into his skull. His bones should be shattered, but they’re somehow not. They sure as hell feel like they are, though. As he attempts to get up again, his chest throbs violently. Sebastian draws a hand up to it, clutching it through his shirt while he sits up on his knees.

And then he hears Lily’s voice.

_“You didn’t believe your wife.”_

Her words are spoken with anger and malice, and as Sebastian gets to his feet, he’s not sure if the pain in his chest is despair or an actual, physical ache. Lily’s voice continues to echo around him, and the angry words spilling out are painted all over the walls of the single square room Sebastian has found himself in.

_“You refused to see.”_

_“It’s all your fault.”_

_“You are a failure.”_

_“Your daughter is lost because of you.”_

_“You couldn’t save her.”_

It’s not Lily. Sebastian knows that. But hearing those words in her voice…it aches more severely than any physical damage he could endure. And those angry words decorate the walls all around him, the latter phrase plastered right in front of his face on the wall ahead of him.

The male voice speaks again, and as he does so, the wall separates. Bricks shift right and left from the middle of the wall, opening up a doorway that leads into blackness, with a house Sebastian recognizes as his own in the horizon.

_“You hold the key to easing your torment. I can guide you to the lock.”_

Sebastian is at his limit. His heart is pounding, his stomach twisted into knots. His blood feels as if it’s boiling out of sheer panic, and he channels that out in an angry outburst. “Who are you!? What do you want with me?!”

Silence follows his questions.

Knowing STEM, Sebastian figures he has to keep moving, so he breaks into a jog through the emptiness, toward the distant house.

_“You cannot change your past. You can only embrace it. Go toward it. Don’t avoid it.”_

And then, Lily’s there. Just sitting there, facing away from him, on her knees on the watery ground of the void they’re in. She either doesn’t hear her father approaching behind her or doesn’t choose to acknowledge him.

Sebastian reaches out to her. “Lily?”

As if cued by his voice, the space between Sebastian and Lily is suddenly engulfed in a wall of flame. Sebastian stumbles backward, gritting his teeth, and then rears forward.

He expects to feel pain and heat around him, but instead, he just feels something hot on his throat. A searing hand has snapped out through the flames and closed its fingers around his neck, just below his jaw. It hoists him into the air as it steps out of the flames. Sebastian gropes at the arm of whatever’s got him, choking and gasping. He tries to scream, but his airway feels as if it’s on fire. He’s not able to breathe in or out.

The creature holding him looks like one of those molten rock things he’d seen just before the catacombs. Up close, it’s frightening. From the low growl of its voice to the glowing eyes, Sebastian’s pulse is racing just being near it.

It lets out a mighty roar, and then launches Sebastian backward and onto the ground. He rolls from the impact, and then out of pure defense, finds his way to his feet instantly. The blackness fades, and then Sebastian is standing in another room within the catacombs once more.

Instead of just one of the molten rock creatures, he’s now facing four.

God, where is Joseph when he needs him?

This must be whoever’s speaking to him making him ‘face’ his past. Taunting him with Lily, and then forcing him to fight these guys? It’s infuriating. Sebastian feels like he’s being strung along in some sort of Cat and Mouse game, and he’s just about had goddamned enough of it.

The monsters are surprisingly easy to kill. They look intimidating, but so long as Sebastian stays away from them and uses the distance to his advantage, they go down easily enough. He takes out the first two with well-timed headshots, and even though the other two take several more shots, they’re down soon enough, melting into puddles of what looks like lava on the ground. Sebastian isn’t about to go inspecting them.

Instead, he looks up toward yet another altar atop an elevated portion of the floor in the room. The voice speaks again.

_“Stefano defied me. Became a thorn in my side. A thorn which you removed. For that, you will be rewarded.”_

So this guy knew Stefano, then? But how?

Sebastian hears a rumbling sound. He turns, pistol ready just in case he’s up against something else this time, but instead finds himself facing what was once a wall. Just like in the room before, the bricks have shifted out of the way to create a door.

Sebastian is standing in a massive room. He’s not quite sure what to call it. There’s a big dial on the ground, shaped like the same symbol he saw before. And in it rests a series of channels. Something like blood flows freely through them, leading to a tall metal gate. Sebastian doesn’t see another exit, so he follows the bloody path straight through the gate. He’s directed down a flight of stairs, and then into a tunnel, and just out of the tunnel, he steps into the very bloody room the channel had been draining into. The stench of death there is nauseating, and Sebastian actually has to swallow down the urge to vomit. Instead, he covers his nose with his forearm and steps further inside.

The same figure that has been taunting him all this time is now facing away from him, high up on a platform above.

“Sebastian Castellanos,” the figure acknowledges, and Sebastian raises his handgun to point it straight at the back of the guy’s head. “You’ve finally come. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Sebastian narrows his eyes. “Who the hell are you?”

“My followers call me Father Theodore,” the man says. It unnerves Sebastian that he’s not turning around to face him. “I hope that you will call me that too, friend.”

There’s a dull roaring noise that suddenly starts filling the room. Sebastian turns his gaze up, following the sound, and finds that a gigantic version of one of those symbols he’s been seeing all over the place hovers above the aforementioned Father Theodore’s head, suspended by huge chains. It’s suddenly bathed in flames so bright that it lights the entire area and Sebastian has to shield his eyes.

“Another lunatic with a god complex, huh?” Sebastian sneers, pistol raised with the hand that isn’t shielding his eyes. “I already killed one of you today.”

“Of course you did.” The man finally turns his head, and then slowly pivots to face Sebastian. “That is how you deal with every challenge in your life. Through brute force and intimidation.”

Jesus…does this guy want Sebastian to join him or does he just want to sit here and counsel him? Either way, it’s getting real fucking old…

“And look where it has led you,” the man continues, apparently impervious to Sebastian’s insults and unaware of his thoughts. “Into a Hell of your own making.”

Their eyes meet, and Sebastian isn’t sure if it’s coming from the bright flames above or elsewhere, but the man called Theodore’s eyes seem to glow an alarmingly vibrant shade of yellow.

“Lower your weapon,” Theodore demands calmly, before he gestures to his temple with two fingers. “Use your mind instead of your fists for once. We have the same goal, Sebastian. We can help each other.”

The flames weaken, and Sebastian can finally see again. He lowers both hands back to his weapon.

“Join me,” Theodore continues. “You will be reunited with your daughter…and I will have the power of the Core.”

Sebastian isn’t buying this screwball cultist’s bullshit. He lowers his gun so that Theodore can see on his face just how little he believes any of what’s being said. “I already know who has Lily,” he deadpans.

“Yes,” Theodore acknowledges simply. “And Myra won’t give her up so easily.”

Sebastian scowls. How can this man know so much? “What? Where are they!?”

“I wish that I could tell you,” The apparent ‘Father’ replies. “But you are not ready. You must be folded into my flock before I can share that knowledge.”

“I said tell me where she is!” That son of a bitch…taunting Sebastian with information like that. Does he honestly think that’s all he’s going to have to do to get him to join his side? Fuck that.

Theodore seems unfazed. “Accept my invitation. I can lead you away from your own darkness.” He pauses, before he makes yet another promise. “I can lead you to Lily.”

Sebastian doesn’t buy it for a damn second. And like hell is he going to agree to do anything that could potentially put his wife and daughter into danger. That said, he raises both eyebrows and opens his mouth to retort. “Sorry. I’m not a follower.”

“So be it.” Sebastian must have hit a nerve, because now, Theodore doesn’t look quite so self-satisfied. He looks irritated. He drums a cane Sebastian just realized he has in his hands onto the ground in front of him, and the bloody floor around Sebastian suddenly lights up with streaks of fire.

Sebastian stumbles back to avoid them, but they’re everywhere. He can feel them licking up against his skin and clothing and hair, and he can smell all of it burning. It hurts so much. So incredibly much.

“You have so much pain,” Theodore states almost robotically, his voice somehow carrying over the roar of the flames. “The events of the past haunt your every moment.”

The smoke fills up Sebastian’s lungs. He can’t go on like this much longer.

“I showed you the path here. You must learn that I am here to help. Return to me willingly. Then, we can assume our natural roles.”

Sebastian glances up at him, just barely able to see those glowing eyes beyond the overwhelming heat and power of the flames surrounding him.

“Not as adversaries, but as allies. Farewell for now, Sebastian.”

He hears a rushing sound and glances over just in time to find himself overcome by the same red liquid that had led him here. It comes in one giant wave and knocks him clean off his feet, taking his consciousness with it.

\--- --- --- --- ---

_“Sebastian? Seb, hey, wake up.”_

_Sebastian’s head is throbbing relentlessly. He feels like opening his eyes might cause his skull to split clean open, and his stomach is doing an awful lot of turning. Did he drink last night?_

_…Of course he did._

_That’s all he seems to do anymore._

_Even before Sebastian opens his eyes, he can see the bright sunlight stabbing its way through the blinds that he can never quite get to shut all the way. He grits his teeth and covers his eyes with his forearm._

_Joseph is standing next to the armchair, a glass of water and some ibuprofen in hand. He’s got that same stern look of disapproval on his face, and Sebastian can’t bring himself to fault him for it. It’s a little on the annoying side, but Sebastian doesn’t ask Joseph to take care of him. That’s all the other man’s volition, and if he’s willingly going to keep being by his side, Sebastian isn’t going to try and shove him away._

_He should really be thanking him._

_“You were up late last night, but it’s almost four in the afternoon now,” Joseph points out. Sebastian can see the concern hiding behind the gleam in his glasses. He doesn’t even have to ask. He knows Joseph had spent the morning worrying about him._

_After all, how long is it going to take for the alcohol to consume him completely?_

_Sebastian can’t even recall what he wants out of it at this point. Drinking clouds his mind and makes it easier not to think about all that has happened, sure, but what about now? The pain of losing his daughter and his wife going missing will never go away, but it’s duller now. At this point, drinking has just become a habit._

_Sebastian thinks Joseph sees that._

_“I’m sorry,” Sebastian grunts, sitting upright. He takes the water and the pills, and then runs his fingers through his hair. “I’m alright. This isn’t my first hangover.”_

_“It’s not the hangover I’m worried about, Seb.” Joseph’s gaze darts to a mostly-empty bottle of whiskey he has moved to the counter separating the kitchen and living room. “You’re going to drink yourself to sleep and never wake up one day.”_

_The reality of those words isn’t lost on Sebastian, hangover or no hangover. His stomach churns a little more violently at the thought. Does he want to die? Not right now, but it’s different when his mind gets to wandering. What more does he have left? What’s even the point of getting up the next morning? It’s not like he has anyone to share his life with anymore. His entire life has either died or gone missing._

_He should search for Myra. Try to find out what happened to her. That’s a reason to keep going, right? And Sebastian doesn’t doubt for a second that Joseph would help him._

_He swallows down the turning in his stomach and looks up to meet Joseph’s gaze with his own. “I’ll try to take it easy, okay?”_

_He says that every time, but Joseph must see some commitment in him, because he relaxes. A small smile forms on his lips, and Sebastian thinks that seeing him calm like that, glowing in the beams of light cast through the blinds, he’s kind of beautiful._

_“Yeah, okay.”_

\--- --- --- --- ---

Sebastian awakens to the sounds of crying and gunfire. His body feels weak, and he can barely keep his eyes open. But from what limited visibility he has, he can tell that Lily is standing in front of him. He sees her tear-stained face and the way she tries to hide her eyes behind her little hands. She’s so scared, and it hurts Sebastian to see her this way.

Sebastian puts every ounce of strength he has into reaching out to her, his arm trembling from the exertion, but she takes off before he can reach her.

“...Wait…!”

His vision goes black for an instant, and when it comes back, Lily is gone. Standing a few feet from where she was is a woman with what looks like an assault rifle pointed out the furthest of two windows. Sebastian doesn’t recognize her, but when she turns to face him, she acknowledges him like she knows him.

“Look who finally woke up. About time,” she practically growls, casting a glance his way for a split second before returning to her task of shooting at whatever is outside the window. “I could use a little help, here! You know how to use a gun, right?”

Sebastian can feel the strength returning to his arms and legs, so he pushes himself to his feet. He peers out the closer window, where countless creatures can be seen rushing toward the windows. The woman doesn’t stop firing.

“Take that side,” she insists, motioning to the window closest to Sebastian. “Keep shooting until they’re dead or we run out of ammo!”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, this'll be the last time I have to follow the canon path directly. It was a nightmare to write, and I hate doing it lmfao. I can definitely say I won't be doing it in at least the next handful of chapters!
> 
> Secondly, I know I switched up the order I've been writing in and we now have two Sebastian chapters in a row. Long story short, it was necessary to avoid cramming too much into one chapter. I hope you can still enjoy this work despite that.
> 
> To those of you who have given this a read, thank you so much for bearing with me. The feedback has warmed my heart.
> 
> This is where the story really picks up. Enjoy!

This girl has all the reason in the world to be as irritated as she is. Sebastian doesn’t know exactly how long she has been fending these creatures off by herself, but he does know that even _with_ his help, it’s still an incredibly intense and difficult fight. When one of them has to reload, it doesn’t take long for the other to get trapped trying to take down all the enemies on their own.

They start by shooting the many creatures through the two windows the woman has designated them to, but said creatures find other ways in. They enter through windows on the other side of the home, break down doors, and even burst through weakened portions of the walls or ceilings. This leaves both Sebastian and his new partner cornered together in what is legitimately a fight for their lives. Thankfully, this woman seems to know what she’s doing.

“Nice shooting!” She congratulates Sebastian as he takes out one monster with a quick headshot.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Sebastian responds appreciatively. He hasn’t forgotten the fact that for some undisclosed amount of time, this woman had been fighting these things off by herself while waiting for Sebastian to wake up. No wonder her greeting to him had been a little on the grumpy side.

They’re at it for far too long. After a handful of minutes that feels like hours, they’re standing in the wake of an alarming amount of dead bodies, panting.

“I think that was the last of them,” the woman says as she checks on her ammo supply. “And that’s a good thing, because I’m almost tapped out. Let’s get going before we’ve got our hands full again.”

The woman heads for the front door, pushing a tall, red toolbox out of the way. Afterward, she turns to face Sebastian, smiling. “Thank you, by the way. I’m not sure I could’ve done all that by myself. I’m Esmeralda Torres.”

Sebastian nods. “I’m—”

“—Sebastian. I know.”

Sebastian knows he looks more than just a little dumbfounded by that response. “…You do?”

Esmeralda doesn’t seem fazed by the shock on his face. She merely shrugs and turns toward the doorway. “We should get a move on before more of those things show up.”

Sebastian reloads his handgun, and then turns to regard the woman. “How did I wind up here? And who are you?”

Esmeralda shakes her head. “No time for twenty questions. My safe house isn’t too far. We can talk on the way there. C’mon.”

So she’s got a safe house, then. Is she with Mobius too? She’s not exactly uniformed like a Mobius agent, but she’s got the ammo and combat experience of one.

“You could at least tell me how you know my name,” Sebastian tries. Is that much information really too much to ask?

Torres doesn’t mind, apparently. “Kidman told me to keep an eye out for you,” she explains as she starts them down the path toward their apparent destination. They’re surrounded in trees, a single dirt trail leading the way.

“…Kidman?”

Torres shrugs. “She said she would try to get your help if the Plan went to shit…and here you are, so…”

“Wait, I’m lost…” Sebastian jogs to catch up with her. As he walks alongside her, he turns a glance down at her. “What plan?”

Torres smirks. She’s got quite the facetious demeanor, Sebastian notices. A sort of youthfulness to her. “Getting Lily out of here,” she replies simply, “and then taking Mobius down for good.”

Whoa…now, that’s a new development. Kidman and Torres had hatched a plan to save Lily? Considering how Torres had spent so long protecting Sebastian in that building back there, he feels compelled to believe her too. But Kidman had…can she really be trusted?

_“Staging a death is child’s play!”_

She’d told Sebastian that back at that bar where she’d found him, as if it were nothing. As if she had no idea the toll it had taken on not just Sebastian, but his wife and all of those connected to Lily. It wasn’t just child’s play. It was cruel and evil.

And yet, he feels a little lighter imagining that she might be on his side. He sure as shit wouldn’t mind being able to trust her again.

“Shit…!” Esmeralda pulls Sebastian out of his thoughts with this exclamation, and she breaks into a jog toward what looks like a pretty decent road block. It looks to have been created by some sort of rockslide, but either way, the path is totally cut off.

“Let me guess,” Sebastian grunts, “the way to your safe house?”

Torres lets the new development roll right off her back. “There might be another way. C’mon.” Afterward, she jogs to her right and starts looking for a way around through the dense rocks and trees.

Sebastian follows after her. “Wait, hold on. Your plan…Kidman didn’t say anything about that.”

The woman rolls her eyes. “Yeah, well, I’m sure she wasn’t able to debrief you on that in front of everybody.”

Okay, fair enough. There’s no telling just how much Kidman has had to keep to herself. If she’s really working against Mobius, she’s probably not saying a lot because of who might be there to hear what she says.

“Over here!”

When Sebastian looks up, Esmeralda is already several feet ahead of him. He runs over to catch up and sees what looks like an overturned tree. It appears to be quite heavy, but it also looks like out of everything else in their immediate environment, it’d be the easiest to move.

Torres seems resolved in what needs to be done. She slings her gun over her shoulder. “One of us has got to lift while the other crawls through.”

“Right, I’ll just—” Sebastian crouches to pick up the heavy tree, but Torres has already got it hefted into the air. “Whoa. You alright? Let me help—”

“Get your ass through before I drop it on your head!” Esmeralda orders, not giving Sebastian a choice. As if scolded, Sebastian ducks down and obeys quickly. Soon enough, he’s underneath and holding it up from the other side.

“Okay, I’ve got it,” He tells her, and she thanks him before crouching down and making her own way underneath. Sebastian lets the tree drop once they’re both through, and then works to catch his breath. How Torres had done it so effortlessly is beyond him. That thing was goddamn _heavy._

Soon enough, they’re both facing what looks like the entrance to a cave. Sebastian can feel his new acquaintance grinning at him from next to him.

“You need a break after that, old man?” She teases.

“Come on,” he scoffs back, “I’m not _that_ old.”

Torres just shrugs, and then they start walking into the cave together. Sebastian still has questions, and once he’s certain they’re not running into any enemies, he’s quick to ask them.

“So you’re telling me Kidman had a plan to take out Mobius all this time?” God, he hopes so.

“Actually,” Torres replies almost solemnly, “it was your wife’s plan.”

Sebastian’s stomach does a backflip. “Wait, Myra? So that’s why she’s here…she’s part of Mobius.” This girl is absolutely riddled to the brim with information. Sebastian’s starting to get a headache. “…This is ridiculous.”

Torres nods to the cave ahead of them, which gets significantly shorter in height. “Gonna have to duck,” she tells him. “Don’t blow your back out.”

Sebastian rolls his eyes and drops into a crouch. “This isn’t the time, Torres.”

For a few seconds, they make their way through the small area in silence. Sebastian has a handful of moments to gain his bearings and to wrap his mind around the reality of the situation. His headache starts to subside, and as if sensing this, Esmeralda speaks again.

“You know, you should be proud of your wife,” she says. “She’s compelling. She recruited me for this plan.”

“I don’t understand,” Sebastian responds as the ceiling of the cave grows high enough for them to stand again. “Why would she join them?”

Torres continues to lead them down the path. “She found out they had Lily and knew the only way to take them down was from the inside. So she joined up and waited for the right moment.”

“All these years…” Sebastian finds his gaze slipping to the stone cave floor as they walk. He can almost remember the desperation on Myra’s face when he’d told her that there was no way Lily could still be alive. “That’s where she was. Damn it…this is a lot to take in.”

Torres stops walking. She turns to regard Sebastian, and there’s a warm look on her face. It bears some level of understanding, and while Sebastian doesn’t get how she could possibly understand, he feels comforted by her. “I’m sure it is. But let’s not lose focus.”

They reach a ledge, which is apparently their only route out. It’s way taller than the both of them, but they’ve got to get to the top of it. Sebastian crouches, his hands poised to lift Torres, and she breaks into a run. Her boot hits those clasped hands, and the timing is perfect. Sebastian effectively throws her toward the ledge and she just barely manages to catch it. With some effort, she pulls herself up.

The cave falls silent, and for a moment, Sebastian wonders if she went on without him. “Hey!” He calls out. “You just gonna forget about me?”

From above, Torres laughs. “You really think I’m gonna leave you here, old man?” She teases, before dropping a single gloved hand down toward him. Sebastian sprints forward, propels himself up on the wall of the ledge, and catches it.

Once he’s getting to his feet atop the ledge, Torres stands up and starts walking again. “You’re part of the Plan, now.”

“The Plan. Right,” Sebastian strides a few feet behind her. In the distance around a corner, he can almost make out sunlight. Has he been at this long enough for it to be daytime? Is daytime even a thing in Union? “Who else was involved in this little mutiny?”

“Just four of us:” Torres responds. “Me, Kidman, Myra, and Theodore.”

Sebastian can’t believe his ears. “…Theodore? _Father_ Theodore?”

Torres glances over her shoulder at him. “ _Father_ Theodore? I just call him Theodore Wallace. You know him?”

“We’ve met,” Sebastian clarifies. “But he doesn’t want to save Lily. He wants her for himself.” No wonder this so-called Plan went to shit. “Tried to talk me into hunting down Myra, too. He’s the one who screwed everything up.” Sebastian can’t keep the anger out of his voice at that thought. From the sounds of it, Myra and Torres and Kidman had been so well-meaning, and then Theodore had to go and turn his back on them.

He takes a deep breath. He’s got to calm down. Getting angry right now is doing him exactly zero good. “…How was this whole thing supposed to go?”

Torres’ focus is straight ahead. “Once Myra and Theodore got Lily, Theodore and I were gonna get her out while Myra stayed behind to take care of Mobius. Kidman stayed outside to make sure we got out of STEM safely. Shit…” Sebastian doesn’t have to see Torres’ face to know she’s upset. “It was supposed to be easy.”

“Nothing’s ever easy,” Sebastian retorts, half attempting to comfort her and half being completely honest.

A loud bang, something like a rifle shot or explosion, cuts their conversation off there, and Torres breaks into a sprint around a curve, into a grassy area. Sebastian speeds up, taking chase behind her.

They find themselves looking at a giant cloud of smoke. Torres curses under her breath, and then gestures for Sebastian to follow. They both hide behind two concrete slabs next to one another, and each of them peer around a side. The area ahead of them is a mess of vehicles and military-grade equipment all centered around one small house-like building.

Or rather, what’s left of the building. It’s now completely encased in flames, and Sebastian looks at the door just in time to see it come flying off the hinges and onto the ground. It’s too far to tell exactly what has emerged from the doorway, but Sebastian _can_ see that it’s tall and it’s got a flamethrower.

…Jesus Christ.

It doesn’t seem to spot them or bear any suspicion as to their whereabouts, though, as it exits the building and disappears off down another path. Sebastian narrows his eyes at the rubble of the building ahead of them.

“…So much for your safe house.”

Torres scoffs. “I wouldn’t put my safe house in the open like that. It’s hidden.” She motions with a nod toward an area a short distance behind the burning building. “See that red banner behind the building?”

“Yeah.”

“The hatch to my safe house is under it.” Torres then gestures to the path leading up to it. It’s lined with more of the molten creatures Sebastian met not so long ago. There are at least six of them, probably more. “But we’ve gotta get past those things first.”

“Right.” Sebastian nods. “I’ll take the lead. Follow me.”

Sebastian figures he’s had enough experience with them to know what he’s doing. He’s not sure how often Torres has had to deal with them, considering she treated this flaming new development with plenty of surprise, so he knows it’s probably better for him to go first.

The first one is easy. Sebastian still remembers how hot their bodies are—his throat still burns somewhat from one of his encounters with them—so he tries not to make too much contact when he embeds his knife in the back of the nearest one’s skull. He finds that if he slides the knife between the cracks of the rock, it’s almost like he’s stabbing through flesh, and these things come down as easily as their weaker brethren.

Torres follows his lead, and when they’re up against two close together, they split up and sneak up on each of them separately, taking them down in unison. So far, they’ve remained hidden.

The path veers left around the building, as the right side is completely blocked off by high fencing. Sebastian can see more of them off in this direction, but from the looks of it, they can avoid them if they move quickly enough. He curves around the house, crouches behind another slab of concrete, and takes out the enemy nearest it along the way. Afterward, he motions for Torres to follow him, and then they’re home free.

The hatch is heavy, but they both manage to heft it up and clamber their way down. They land on concrete, into an empty pathway. Sebastian breathes a sigh of relief, and Torres jogs ahead of him, still somehow so full of energy.

“There’s no place like home,” she says, “but a safe house runs a close second. Listen, don’t freak out about the amount of explosives I’ve got in here. They’re as safe as cookie dough. At least until I arm them.”

She seems proud of that fact, and Sebastian can’t help but laugh a little to himself about it. To be honest, he could use someone who knows their way around a good set of explosives. He might be the tiniest fraction nervous about what she’s got going on, especially since she seems keen to warn about it, but if anything, he has a feeling they’re going to need it just in case the Plan requires it.

Either way, he follows her into her safe house and closes the door behind him.

Torres definitely has a ton of explosives in the room. C4 sits out in the open, and Sebastian thanks his lucky stars that Lily hasn’t been through here. Either way, he doesn’t have much time to think about it, because Torres is suddenly talking to him.

“So what’re we gonna do about Theodore?”

“I don’t know,” Sebastian answers honestly. “He’s insane. His hideout looks like an inquisitor’s dream home.” He doubts he’ll ever forget having to fight his way through the big goddamned mess that was the catacombs. “I should be relieved that Myra has Lily instead of him, but—”

“What?” Torres looks genuinely shocked. “Myra has Lily?”

“Yeah,” Sebastian frowns. “But I’m not sure that’s good news. She’s…changed.” It hurts to say it that way. Sebastian _does_ trust her, but… “This place seems to have affected her. She’s hiding, trying to protect Lily from Theodore. And he’ll tear this place apart to find them.” He hesitates for a moment, lost in thought. “If I can stop him, maybe Myra will come to her senses and we can get Lily out of here.”

“So,” Torres clarifies, “the plan is to take out Theodore.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian agrees, “but I have to find him first.”

She shakes her head. “How are you gonna do that?”

“O’Neal helped me before,” Sebastian ponders aloud. “I’ll call him. But I’d better give Kidman an update, first.” He fishes his communicator off his belt.

“Right.” Torres seems to think that’s a good idea too. “But be careful what you say over that thing. She’s probably in the control room with that lizard hovering over her.”

She’s good to warn Sebastian, honestly. It isn’t like he was planning on spilling his guts to Kidman all in one call, but he does need to be careful. No surprise she’s being monitored. Either way, Sebastian calls her up. The alarm in her voice when she answers is reassuring.

“Sebastian? Where have you been? Did you find Stefano?”

“I did more than that,” Sebastian answers. “I eliminated him.”

“Good,” Kidman sounds relieved, “and Lily?”

Sebastian releases a sigh that’s far too heavy for even his own comfort. “She slipped through my fingers again.”

Kidman’s sigh mirrors his own. “I’m sorry to hear that. Any leads?”

Sebastian glances across the room at Esmeralda, who’s got her arms crossed, just smiling placidly as she waits for Sebastian to finish his call.

“The good news is that I’ve been in contact with Agent Torres. Her…intel…has been invaluable.”

Sebastian can almost hear the pieces click together in Kidman’s mind right before she responds. “That _is_ good news. So, what’s the bad news?”

“The bad news is there’s someone more powerful than Stefano who wants to take this place over,” Sebastian continues. “And he needs Lily to do that. Torres told me you know him, too. He’s a real smooth talker…”

“Damn…” Kidman sighs over the receiver. “I think I know who you’re talking about. I’ll send some stuff to your room that might help. Keep me posted. You know I’m here for you…”

Yeah, Sebastian does. He feels resolved in that fact at this point. “I know,” he tells her. “I trust you, Kidman.”

He ends the call and then dials for O’Neal. Almost instantly, he gets static back. “…Shit. I’d better check on him,” he thinks aloud, before he turns his focus up to Torres. “Go ahead and get your explosives ready, Torres. I’ll call you if I need you.”

“Got it.” Torres gives him an affirmative nod.

“Hang tough, Torres.”

“Yeah. Good luck, Sebastian.”

First and foremost, Sebastian needs to go to his Room. He’s got Kidman’s information to look over on Theodore, and once he’s done checking on O’Neal, he plans on going after that son of a bitch right off the bat. Besides, he’s been really aching to draw a giant red ‘X’ on the picture of Stefano that awaits in said Room.

The setup for his Room is fascinating. Just like with STEM the last time, Sebastian can travel here, back and forth, with the help of mirrors constructed by his own memory. He finds one in Torres’ safe house and passes right through it.

\--- --- --- --- ---

_“I’m telling you, there’s nothing there.” Joseph’s voice sounds angry, but he’s laughing. “Kidman’s green—I’m just trying to help her get settled.”_

_“Right,” Sebastian teases back. “Settled. That must be what they call it nowadays.”_

_This is the first time they’ve gone out drinking together in a long time. Since before Lily died and Myra went missing. They just closed a case that had taken them far too long. Long enough for the story to reach the news and the people to start asking questions. But now that the door on it’s shut, it’s a relief. Sebastian hasn’t had a stiff drink in almost that long, and he’s the one who suggested he and Joseph head to the bar._

_Joseph doesn’t seem to find any harm in it. That’s a good feeling, honestly. It’s better than the disappointment Sebastian has gotten so accustomed to seeing in his eyes._

_He must be getting better._

_“I’m not interested in her!” Joseph’s a little bit on the tipsy side, but not too bad. Sebastian knows he’s staying sober enough that he can get his partner home if he needs to. He’s such a good friend. Sebastian doesn’t deserve him. “I don’t have time for that kind of thing, anyway.”_

_“You’ve got plenty,” Sebastian leans forward on the booth table they’re sitting at. “You can’t make your entire life about your work, Joseph. That’s where I screwed up, you know. I lost so much time because I put my damn job before my life.”_

_“You can’t let that consume you, Seb,” Joseph is calm and relaxed, the smile on his face fading but not disappearing entirely. “It’s something you can’t change at this point. You’re not bringing them back by dwelling on it, and you’re not doing yourself any good, either.”_

_“You’re right,” Sebastian replies around a long exhale. “You’re always right, Joseph. It doesn’t make it any easier to do, though, but I promise I’m trying like hell.”_

_“That’s good, Sebastian.” Joseph takes a sip of his drink._

_“But hey,” Sebastian reaches across the table and gives his friend a shove, “that’s not the goddamn point. What I’m saying is, live your life. Work isn’t everything.”_

_Joseph turns his gaze down to the glass in his hands. Sebastian can’t see his mouth, but he thinks the man is smiling. “That’s okay. I’m alright with the way things are.”_

_\--- --- --- --- ---_

The instant Sebastian arrives in his Room, he gets the feeling he’s not alone. It’s not the same sensation as when he awakened on his desk to all the candles and the altar. It’s different. Comforting. Warm. Sebastian feels safe. He takes in the fact that Theodore’s fiery little setup is gone completely and his Room looks just like how it did before he stuck his nose in. He starts toward the back office where his information would be.

He’s almost to the door leading into his office when he catches sight of something just in front of it. At the desk that sits there, someone is resting with their head leaned forward onto the wood, fast asleep. Sebastian recognizes them immediately.

“…Joseph?”

At the mention of his name, Joseph sits bolt upright, shocked, as if awakened out of a dead sleep. He seems to take a minute to adjust to the surroundings, before he pushes his glasses up onto his nose and locks eyes with Sebastian.

His expression grows so warm that it makes Sebastian’s knees go weak. “…You’re okay.”

“Are you the _real_ Joseph this time?” Sebastian all-but blurts out, because there’s just no way in hell something created as a clone out of Sebastian’s mind could look at him with such a _human_ amount of affection. Sebastian doesn’t even try to deny the fact that he’s a little in love at the sight alone.

Joseph’s expression sobers. “Sebastian…I told you. Joseph is dead. I’m sorry, but that’s just the way it is.”

Sebastian tries with every fibre of his being to not let his disappointment make it to his face. “…Oh. What’re you doing here?”

Not-Joseph frowns. “I should ask the same of you. This is my Room.”

“ _Your_ Room?” Sebastian mirrors his frown. “Well, I guess if you’re a product of my mind, it would make sense that we share a Room.”

Not-Joseph hesitates for a second, and then eventually shrugs. “Seems to make sense.”

“Where’s that monster?” Sebastian knows they both know he’s referring to the thing this version of Joseph has been protecting him from.

“Beats me,” Not-Joseph answers. “She disappeared on her own. I confronted her and then she vanished. I don’t think she can reach this place, at least. So there’s that.”

“I think you’re right,” Sebastian says. “I don’t think _anything_ can reach us here.”

Not-Joseph nods. “I see Myra’s in STEM, too.”

“You saw her?” Sebastian’s heart leaps.

“I saw her where you did,” the Joseph clone responds. “At that theater. You couldn’t see me, but I was there.”

Sebastian finds it strange that he couldn’t see Joseph in any given situation. But his mind _had_ been pretty occupied. Perhaps he hadn’t been able to fully manifest this version of Joseph with how much had been going on at the time…

“So you saw that she took Lily.”

“I did. Do you have any leads on her now?”

Sebastian shakes his head. “I wish I did. I met a few people who gave me more answers, though. Nothing solid, but a few theories I’m going to test out.”

Sebastian finds some relief in the fact that he can divulge this information to Joseph, real or not. Even if he isn’t the Joseph Sebastian knew for so long, there’s comfort in the way the other man responds. It’s like he really does have his partner here. For the umpteenth time, he can’t believe he’s actually talking to a hallucination. This Joseph clone seems far too human to be made up. Before he can mention it, however, he sees something like burns on the Not-Joseph’s neck that draws his attention away from the subject. He reaches out and tips the clone’s chin up so he can get a better look.

The markings are veiny and scarred and bubbled in parts. They leave white trails up along the partner clone’s throat and past his jaw, some of the tendrils extending just barely onto his face. The trails seem to glow.

“What the hell happened to you?”

“What’re you talking about…?” Not-Joseph genuinely looks confused, so he reaches up and runs his fingers along his throat. Sebastian watches him pause for a few seconds and then lower his hand. “…I suppose I’m as unstable as everything else in here.”

Neither of them say anything then. Not-Joseph gets to his feet and dusts himself off as if he’s been sat at this desk for a long time. He removes his glasses and cleans them, and once he returns them to his face, he releases a pent-up sigh.

“We need to get back on task, Sebastian,” Not-Joseph states plainly. “You said you’ve got someone you need to talk to. Let’s go do that.”

“Let’s?” Sebastian knows he sounds hopeful. “As in the two of us?”

“That’s right. We don’t know where the woman stalking you is, so I’m going to stay close for now.”

“Good,” Sebastian reaches out and claps his hand on this Joseph’s back. “I need my partner.”


	7. Chapter 7

When Sebastian fell down that giant chasm, Joseph had truly feared the worst. Even as he himself had been sent tumbling after his former partner, all he’d been able to think about was what was going to happen to Sebastian. After all, wasn’t he supposed to protect him? You can’t protect a dead man.

He doesn’t remember when exactly he blacked out, but it had been long after Sebastian had disappeared into the darkness below. Joseph had watched him fade out of view, as if he had somehow been falling faster than Joseph himself, and his heart and stomach had sunk. His mind had been riddled with thoughts of how he’d failed his mission, and how he’d failed Sebastian. And somewhere between coming to terms with that and the sheer gravity of the fall, he’d gone unconscious.

When he had come to once more, it had been at the desk in his Room, to Sebastian’s voice. He had recognized the sound right off the bat, and he had initially been unable to believe his ears.

It had been so good to see him alive, after Joseph had been so sure that fall had killed him. Perhaps he should have known better—that STEM was never so straightforward as a death so simple—but emotional attachment did that to a person, and Joseph was _very_ emotionally attached to Sebastian.

Looking at him there in that Room, Joseph had felt as if his heart might explode. Sebastian was alive, and he had looked relatively uninjured, like the fall had never even happened. Joseph had been unable to contain the relief in his voice and on his face. He had felt relief for himself and for Lily and Myra. For the fact that the man he loved was still here.

That was nothing new, though. Perhaps there had been a point in time where Joseph hadn’t quite understood what his feelings had meant, and there had never been a set point in time when he’d had the ‘ah-ha’ moment of realization. Over a progression of his years working with the difficult, crabby, sarcastic, but loyal and tenacious and intelligent Sebastian, it had just become obvious. Joseph hadn’t awakened one day and noticed that he was in love with Sebastian, because he always _had_ been.

And he’d been content with that, even after Sebastian had met Myra. Seeing the big grouch happy had made Joseph happy. So long as he had gotten to stay by his partner’s side, he didn’t care _how_ he got to.

He had had those feelings for far too long to be alarmed by them. To be honest, he wouldn’t be surprised if Sebastian knew. He’d never made an effort to be subtle about it.

It had been hard for Joseph, not telling Sebastian how he’d gotten the weird marks on his neck. Joseph knows where they came from. He can still feel that woman’s hands on his throat, making it burn and feel as if it were turning to ice all at the same time.

But clearly, Sebastian is still protective over Joseph. Even if he thinks this Joseph isn’t real, he still expresses concern over him. And Joseph doesn’t want that to make things worse for him. He’s got enough on his plate, already.

So yeah, he lied about it. He’s going to dig himself into a hole eventually with these lies, but it’s all for a good cause. At this point, Joseph doesn’t care what Mobius wants, but he fears retaliation, so he’s got to keep pretending, even if just to avoid them putting a bullet in Sebastian’s brain.

Sebastian tells him that O’Neal might be able to put him on the road toward his new target—some guy named ‘Theodore’. From the sounds of it, this Theodore man thinks he’s some sort of religious leader, and he wants Lily’s power to use as his own. Sebastian seems to think that if he eliminates Theodore, Myra might come back to her senses and let him rescue Lily.

During their time spent in their Room, Sebastian gives him the quickest briefing he can manage. He tells him about a girl he calls ‘Torres’, and a little more about Hoffman than he’d given before, and about all their connections to Mobius and his own pursuit of Lily. For now, O’Neal and Theodore seem the most important, which Joseph makes a mental note of. He realizes in that moment that he doesn’t have a notebook on him. He almost feels naked without it.

Sebastian also tells Joseph about something called The Plan. Apparently, Kidman and Myra and this Torres woman are all on the same side, and they’ve come up with a method for getting Lily out of STEM and taking Mobius down once it’s done. The man called ‘Theodore’ had supposedly been on their side to start with, but he’d defected once they were all inside. Now, he’s the enemy.

Joseph still isn’t sure if he believes Kidman is really helping Myra and Torres, but he sees that Sebastian has a significant amount of faith in her, so he decides to give her a very cautious benefit of the doubt for now. He isn’t going to say anything, since he’s sure Mobius is watching Kidman and listening to every ounce of conversation she has over the communicator, but he has a little less hatred toward her out of hope, at the very least.

Once it’s time to go, Sebastian walks toward a mirror across the room from the door that leads to his office. Apparently, that’s how he enters and leaves his Room. Joseph can see them, but when he approaches them, he just sees his reflection. His own exit is through the door next to his desk—the one with Sebastian’s name and old title on it. He just walks through and finds himself in Union or the Marrow, depending on where he came from.

Despite the different routes, he and Sebastian wind up at the same place. Joseph gets to meet the aforementioned Torres, a spunky young woman with a love and a mind for explosives, and also an entertaining tendency toward picking on Sebastian. During a good portion of the introductions, she pokes a lot of fun at his age, and even Joseph can’t stifle a laugh or two when Sebastian doesn’t seem to handle it well.

“I’m forty-one, for chrissakes,” Sebastian grouches to her at one point. “I don’t even _look_ that old.”

But he does look a little older, Joseph thinks. The past three years have aged him somewhat quickly. The lines in his face have grown deeper, and the shadows beneath his eyes a little darker. But it brings out the reddish hue in his amber irises. With his age comes a subtle layer of beauty, and Joseph figures that if Torres is giving him that much grief over it, she must see it too. She definitely seems to do all her lighthearted joking affectionately.

Either way, Sebastian is determined to get to O’Neal, so he leads Joseph to the computer that is going to take them into the Marrow. Torres bids them an enthusiastic good luck, and Joseph thanks her, before focusing on the screen.

Joseph has never traveled into the Marrow with someone alongside him before, and from the looks of it, neither has Sebastian. They exchange glances, before Sebastian just plants his hand on Joseph’s shoulder and nods to the computer.

It works. Joseph enters the password onto the keyboard and the atmosphere disappears around them. They’re left in an empty, voidlike area with some sort of liquid underneath their feet. There are a few hologram images of trees and other foliage in the distance, but neither Sebastian nor Joseph pay them any mind. They both know from experience now that the area they’re in is a sort of Lobby while they wait for the computer to reappear so they can finish their transition to the Marrow.

Soon enough, it does, and Joseph repeats the process. This time, the blackness fades away and gives way to the gray walls and lockers of the office they’ve been transported to in the Marrow.

When Sebastian finally does let go, he looks perplexed. Joseph mirrors the confusion etched onto his partner’s face. “What is it?”

“You’re warm,” Sebastian comments.

Joseph wrinkles his nose, then looks down and tugs his gloves down onto his hands better. “I don’t think I’m running a fever, Seb.”

“No, I mean…” Sebastian looks down at his own hand thoughtfully. “ _Human_ , warm.”

Joseph knows what he’s getting at. Maybe Sebastian just doesn’t believe what he’s been told, or maybe he thinks he’s somehow proving Joseph wrong. Either way, he’s looking for not-fabricated qualities to pick out in his old partner.

A part of Joseph just wants to come clean and tell him everything. From waking up with three years missing from his life to Kidman sending him in to help protect his friend, to not being allowed to ‘distract’ him from his ‘objective’. But he has a feeling it’ll only make Sebastian angrier with Mobius than he already is.

Joseph has had to hold Sebastian back in enough interrogations in the past to know better than to make him more angry than necessary. Especially if his daughter is involved.

“I may not be _your_ Joseph,” he starts, shaking his head, “but I still have a body.”

“…Right.” Sebastian looks too disappointed for Joseph’s comfort. “You’re right. Forget I said anything.”

For a moment, Joseph feels guilty. Sebastian must want pretty desperately for his partner to be real if he’s still looking for any traits that give it a possibility. Maybe losing Joseph has been a lot harder on Sebastian than the younger man thought…

“I’m sorry, Sebastian,” Joseph finally says, giving Sebastian a sincere look of apology. “I really am. I’d love to tell you I’m who you want me to be, but…”

“No, you’re right.” Sebastian scrubs his hand across the side of his face, and then nods slowly. “Besides, we need to keep moving.”

Joseph takes a short moment to ensure that Sebastian is alright, but then nods his head as well. “Yeah, let’s do this.”

The entrance to the Marrow from here indicates to Joseph that Torres’ safe house had been in the Union Nature Preserve. It opens up somewhere that is decorated all over with candles. Bodies are strewn all about the corridor, and puddles of blood line the groups of candles as if the arrangement was intentional. Going by the nearby altar around the corner, Joseph gets the unsettling sensation that it was. When he glances at Sebastian to see what he thinks, the slightly taller man is frowning.

“Seems like he’s been here, too,” Sebastian observes, and Joseph isn’t sure if the memo is meant for him or intended as a thought.

“Who?” Joseph asks.

“Theodore,” Sebastian explains. “These are his cult symbols. Or, well, that’s what I’m going to call them. I sure as shit don’t plan on coming up with a nicer name for that basket case.” Sebastian follows the hallway past the altar, where it veers right. “Hoffman’s safe house is nearby. I want to check on her.”

Diligently, Joseph follows along. It’s a bit too quiet, but Joseph tries not to pay it too much mind. If they can catch a break, he’ll take it.

Hoffman’s safe house is a little different than the ones Joseph has seen before. It’s more like a halfway point between one side of the Marrow and another one. It looks more like a surveillance room than anything, with computers strewn about and camera displays playing on almost all of them. Joseph and Sebastian are clearly the only ones in the room, and maybe it’s just the thought that this Hoffman person has gone missing, but the air in the room feels heavy.

Joseph’s heart jumps up into his throat. He finds himself anticipating a sea of blue and ghostly singing. On instinct, he casts a glance over to Sebastian, who has stopped in the middle of the room. He’s staring down into his communicator, turning the knob on the side of it. Joseph doesn’t realize he’s tuning it until all the color fades from the room.

Sebastian disappears altogether, and Joseph feels the cold before he sees the blue filter into the room. He exhales steam.

The ghostly figure materializes directly in front of him. She doesn’t attack. She just paces slow circles around him, singing that same song of hers. Her head bobs as if it’s hanging by a thread, and the ribbons that make up her dress swirl around Joseph as if they might close around his throat and choke him into submission any second.

He doesn’t move. Just cautiously watches her as she circles him. What is she doing? What does she want from him? Hopefully, Sebastian is hiding right now…

She makes a full circle around him, and then his blood runs cold. As she passes his front to continue yet another circle, she leaves a blue figure in her wake. Standing there, watching him with those cold eyes, is none other than Ruvik. He doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to. His influence was always in Joseph’s head.

Joseph is filled with visions of screams. Flickers from the past of himself clutching at his own head, roaring at the top of his lungs. His eyes feel like they’re going to explode, and his face feels like it’s on fire. He feels like he’s dying, but he’s never dead enough. It’s never enough.

Ruvik steps to the side, where Joseph sees himself from all those years ago. Red eyes, his face mutated and covered in scars and bloody red marks. He’s smirking, his gaze boring right through his glasses and into his present self’s skull. Much like Ruvik, he doesn’t speak, but the words somehow find their way into Joseph’s mind.

_“You wanted to attack them. You wanted to watch them bleed.”_

Joseph opens his mouth to scream, but everything disappears. The ghost dissipates right in front of him, and with her, she takes Ruvik and the past version of Joseph. Color floods the room again, and Joseph is brought back to reality just in time to hear Sebastian speak again.

“O’Neal left his safe house to go to a restricted area of the Marrow?” Sebastian questions to himself, as if whatever just happened to Joseph was completely unseen by him. Joseph thanks his lucky stars that he doesn’t have to explain. “That doesn’t sound like him.”

Joseph moves to stand next to his partner, the confusion right on his face. “What happened?”

Sebastian examines his communicator, before slipping it back into its compartment on his belt. “Hoffman _was_ here, but she got a call from O’Neal. Apparently, he’s in a restricted area, which is unusual. Ever since I met O’Neal, he was dead set on staying in his safe house. At one point, he even told me that trying to appeal to his good nature wouldn’t convince him to do anything that required him leaving. He isn’t a bad guy, I don’t think. He just wants to make it out alive…”

Joseph nods in understanding. “You’re concerned because he’s behaving strangely. Not responding when you called him earlier, and now, he’s off to a restricted portion of the Marrow.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian answers. “And for some reason, he asked Hoffman to come along. Something about all of this doesn’t add up.”

Joseph adjusts his glasses resolutely. “Sounds like we’re going to the restricted area, then.”

“That’s right,” Sebastian agrees. “Let’s go.”

The restricted area is directly ahead, through Hoffman’s safe house. It’s much brighter in color than the rest of the Marrow. Honestly, it’s brighter than all of Union. At least, in the hallway they’re in right now. The walls and floors are bright white, and fluorescent lights line the ceiling. Their path is a long hallway with an elevator at the end. Once inside the elevator, they’re taken on a fairly short ride down, and then the elevator doors open up into some sort of security area.

Joseph glances over at Sebastian just in time to see the other man looking at him. “Looks like they’ve got extra security down here,” the older man observes.

And they do. It looks like they’re in some sort of corridor. There are two doors sealed with valve-style covers on either side of the elevator, but they’re both blocked off by corpses on gurneys. Directly forward from the elevator are two metal detectors that don’t seem to be functioning anymore, as well as a couple corpses just beyond them. Past the metal detectors and to the left is a doorway that leads into some sort of office. Straight ahead from the metal detectors is a big white set of double doors.

Joseph and Sebastian pass through the metal detectors and turn into the office. Sebastian seems to take note of the mirror above a desk within the office, and next to a series of lockers is the door that leads to Joseph’s Room. Sebastian robs a handgun off of a corpse just past the doorway and hands it to Joseph, and then they’re on their way.

Sebastian goes through the door outside of the office before Joseph, who is following closely. He has almost reached it, but just as he’s about to push past it, the doors swing shut in his face. He already knows what’s about to happen before the bright white walls turn hauntingly blue.

“ _SEB…_ ” the familiar voice shrieks. Joseph wheels around to find the woman hovering right in front of him. She giggles dementedly, and then passes right through him. With her, she takes the walls of the restricted area’s security hallway. It’s replaced with a dark, rusty-looking hallway. Joseph knows where he is. After being forced to fight Kidman by Ruvik’s influence back in Beacon, Joseph had found himself here.

He dreads this moment for good reason, and the very reason invades his brain right then and there.

Voices. So many voices. Sebastian’s voice. Joseph’s. Ruvik’s. Kidman’s. Connelly’s. All overlapping around one another, interweaving like fingers laced in demented thought.

 _“How long?”_ One questions.

 _“You’re going to kill someone eventually,”_ another taunts.

_“You shouldn’t be here.”_

_“Just give up.”_

_“Or die.”_

_“Can’t hurt anyone if you’re dead.”_

_“Can’t kill anyone, either.”_

Joseph doubles over in pain and vomits blood. His skin feels like it’s peeling right off his face. It hurts so much and the voices won’t stop.

Yes. This was the moment that Joseph had decided that he may have to kill himself to avoid becoming a danger to anyone else.

He throws his head back, hands on his ears, and lets out a scream. He can see the images in his head. Maybe he’ll do it with a gun. Maybe he’ll let those _things_ take him. Maybe he’ll find Ruvik. Let him do it.

He needs to die.

And he _wants_ to die.

Joseph hears his own voice scream, but he knows it didn’t come from him. He opens his eyes, and the blue is gone. He’s back in that hallway and the ghost lady is nowhere to be seen.

The door behind him bursts open, and Sebastian’s voice follows.

“Joseph!”

Joseph opens his mouth to speak, but Sebastian stops him. He sprints forward, closes a hand around Joseph’s upper arm, and yanks him into the nearby office and down onto the ground, behind a desk in the leftmost corner. It creates just enough shadow to pass as a hiding place, so Joseph knows exactly what is happening.

A growl, followed by a sound somewhat like crying, fills the area. Joseph can’t see directly over the desk from his position this low to the ground, but in the window over the desk, he can just make out the top of an incredibly tall figure. It’s shrouded in some sort of green cloud. It’s got a ghastly, miserable-looking face, mouth turned down in perpetual despair, but that’s all Joseph can see of it.

As it draws closer, Sebastian pulls Joseph in so closely that his back is pressed up against the man’s chest. An arm curls around Joseph’s shoulders and a hand closes over his mouth.

Joseph knows better than to say anything. He had planned on staying silent and hidden. But he doesn’t fight Sebastian’s hold on him. His gaze, however, darts sideways to where he can see the other man has his gun clutched close, as if he’s ready to fire provided the creature finds them.

In Sebastian’s defense, that thing _is_ spooky-looking as hell.

Each second that passes is agonizing. The creature moves so slowly that even though Joseph is trying hard not to breathe out of fear that it might be too loud, he’s having trouble holding his breath. He exhales slowly out of his nose and inhales shakily, struggling to keep quiet.

The weird green haze must carry a smell or aura or something that attracts enemies, because with the towering, swaying, crying creature comes a small group of less dangerous ones.

And one of them comes into the office. It doesn’t seem to notice Sebastian and Joseph as it heads straight toward a wall across the room from the doorway. Joseph wonders if he can see the door that leads to his Room—if that was why he chose to head that way.

Sebastian uncovers Joseph’s mouth and releases his shoulders. He raises a finger to his lips, as if to shush him, and then crawls out of the dark little corner they’ve been hiding in.

Joseph knows how dire their situation is. Sebastian is taking a huge risk sneaking up on that one enemy while so many others lurk outside of the room. It would be far too easy for Sebastian to accidentally startle one of them and wind up with all of them after him, but at the same time, if this one sees them hiding, it’s going to alert the others.

It looks like Sebastian has done this before, though. He creeps right up on the monster, then yanks it down to his level and embeds his knife in its skull. The creature doesn’t even have the time to make a sound, and soon enough, Sebastian has lowered it to the ground and is backing slowly up into the place he had deemed their hiding spot. The things mucking about outside the office seem to be none the wiser.

The hazy green creature leads its cohorts past the office and toward the elevator, so Sebastian motions for Joseph to follow him and starts out of the office. Joseph stays crouched and lines up behind Sebastian as he peers out.

With a wave of his hand, Sebastian gestures for Joseph to keep going, and he exits the office, making a left and slowly pushing open one of the big double doors there. They enter into a room full of tall, cylindrical glass containers holding some sort of green liquid. Sebastian finds an overturned container and tries to push it in front of the doors they just came in.

“…Help me out, here,” Sebastian requests, and Joseph jogs over to do so. With both of their strength, the cylinder moves and eventually, it’s pushed in front of the double doors. Nothing with any normal amount of strength should be able to get past that.

Sebastian, now feeling more safe, addresses Joseph as he walks toward the door on the other side of the room.

“Why didn’t you follow me in here?” He asks. “A bit ago. You hung back.”

“Just a bit ago?” Joseph frowns. “That’s all the time that passed?”

Sebastian shrugs. “It wasn’t long.” He pushes the door open and they’re greeted to some sort of massive laboratory area. There are curtains draped all over the place, possibly operating as temporary walls, but in the distance, Joseph can make out a big metal door. “I turned around, you weren’t there. Turned back around, and those things were after me.”

Joseph shakes his head. “The ghost…thing. She came back. I tried to follow you, but she shut the door before I could get through it.”

Sebastian suddenly raises a hand to silence his partner, and they both crouch back down. Sebastian points to a creature emerging from around one of the curtains, and then sneaks up on it, using his knife to kill it quickly. Once he’s through, he returns to Joseph’s side and they both stand back up after ensuring the coast is clear.

“She attacked you instead of me?” Sebastian looks legitimately surprised.

“I was in her way of you,” Joseph replies simply. “That’s my guess.”

“It makes sense,” Sebastian agrees. Joseph can feel the taller man’s gaze raking up and down his form. He somehow knows it’s because Sebastian is looking for more signs of the markings on his skin.

They reach the big metal door and the room goes black again. Joseph tenses, glancing around frantically. But there’s no sign of the ghostly woman. Just Sebastian staring at the door, as if he sees something Joseph can’t.

When color fills the room once more, their eyes meet. Sebastian seems to understand that Joseph doesn’t know what’s going on. “We need some sort of chip to get through here.”

Joseph remembers Russell telling him about Mobius’ subdermal chips. Is this the same thing? Are there different types of chips based on rankings? Why can’t he get in with his own? Does Sebastian have one?

Either way, he nods. His guess is that the labs are the best places to look for them. Judging by the way Sebastian is suddenly glancing about the room for any sign of where to start, Joseph is willing to guess he feels the same way.

Despite how big and spread out the area is, the enemies are few and far between. At one point, the two men are able to separate and deal with them on their own. Joseph checks the clip on the pistol Sebastian gave him not long ago, and while Joseph takes the left side of the room facing away from the big door, Sebastian goes right.

The entire first floor is easy to explore. Most of the bodies there are on gurneys, as if already past dead, and Joseph doesn’t pay them much mind. He does take note of a corpse on the ground sporting a Mobius labcoat, however. Russell had removed his own chip, so Maybe Joseph could do the same to this guy. His own chip clearly isn’t enough to get through, after all.

It’s a bloody mess, though. Joseph doesn’t have a knife, so he uses a scalpel he finds nearby. Coagulated blood coats his gloved fingers and the ground where he’s working, but with some effort, he soon has a chip in hand.

“Joseph,” Sebastian’s voice is close. “Over here.”

Joseph does the best he can to clean the blood from his clothes, and then follows the sound of his partner’s voice. He finds Sebastian standing in front of some sort of big metal shutter. He’s been messing with the breaker box next to it for quite some time. When Joseph approaches, Sebastian nods to the box and crosses his arms.

“I think it’s shorted out or something.”

“Alright, I’ll take a look.” Joseph approaches once his partner steps out of the way. He flips a couple of switches on the box, but nothing happens. A glance just below the breaker box at the wire casing leading from it tells Joseph it should be getting power, though. If it were a short, there’d be at least some form of electrical activity still happening. Right now, it almost just seems like the box is somehow unplugged.

“Let me see your knife,” he requests, holding out a hand. Sebastian passes his serrated knife into his partner’s hand, and Joseph uses the tip of it to pop off the wire casing beneath the box.

There isn’t a short, which is a good thing. A short would require a whole lot more work than the problem they’re facing now. Joseph hands the knife back and closes his fingers around a loose wire, which he makes quick work of connecting. Once he’s satisfied, he flips a couple of switches experimentally, until the box whirrs to life and the shutter comes open. It stops halfway up, but they can get in now.

The smell of death pours out of the room, and Joseph sees why. As they approach, they see that directly inside the room is some sort of mine cart filled to the brim with bodies. They duck under the shutter and step inside. Joseph both feels and hears the metallic ‘pang’ of his shoes on what looks like a mine track. Directly to the left, there’s a lineup of corpses on the ground, all of them covered in a black tarp. Ahead of them, there’s a hallway that the track follows, and it has bodies littered on the sides along the entire way. The odor of rotting flesh is overpowering.

And yet, they both feel compelled to follow that gruesome path. Sebastian leads the way, with Joseph tailing him closely. Whatever is down here, it’s already dead. There are no groaning noises or grotesque moans. It’s just…death, and it surrounds them more and more with each step they take.

The long path opens up into an intersection. On the right, there’s just a wall with another body-filled cart sitting there. Straight ahead is a door leading into some sort of office. On the left, there’s a ledge.

Joseph feels his stomach knot up when Sebastian makes his way toward said ledge. He follows though, and they both peer over it.

“It seems to go on forever…” Sebastian comments, and Joseph can’t help but agree. It’s like they’re looking into a bottomless pit. In STEM, it could very well be just that.

“Let’s not worry too much about it,” Joseph suggests, giving Sebastian’s arm a small tug away from the ledge. He just wants his partner far from that pit as soon as possible.

Sebastian doesn’t protest. They both make a break for the door that is now to their left. It opens up into what almost looks like a surveillance room. There’s a big window that looks directly out toward that seemingly endless hole, and in front of said window is a computer desk. A document sits open on the monitor of the computer there, and Sebastian sweeps in almost immediately to read it. Joseph moves to stand over the man’s shoulder so that he can do the same:

_“It’s lonely in here. And creepy. Dumping these bodies, these…THINGS…into this pit. And they just keep coming. How did I end up with this detail?_

_Been hearing things. Voices. Coming from the pit. But that can’t be…_

_But if they aren’t coming from the pit, then they’re in my head. And that’s even worse…Aural hallucination is one of the symptoms…_

_But I can’t be infected. It’s not a virus or bacteria. It’s a mental thing that only infects citizens whose memories have been rewritten…_

_At least that’s what they told me…_

_…Shit. I’ve got to keep it together. It’s just loneliness that’s making me think like this. Loneliness and being around these freaky corpses. It’s not the Phenomenon…”_

When both men are done reading, their eyes meet.

“What the fuck?” Sebastian deadpans. “I suppose I shouldn’t be shocked since this is Mobius we’re dealing with, but…”

“No,” Joseph agrees, “this is low even for them. This STEM…Union…people aren’t put here to live a peaceful life. They were installed to be made into test dummies and then when they mutated, they were thrown away like trash.”

“And this Phenomenon business…” Sebastian adds thoughtfully. “It’s not a virus or bacteria. It’s mental. What does that mean?”

It takes everything Joseph has in him right then not to blurt out his knowledge about the Lost Phenomenon, and how he’s basically put it together in his mind that the ghost woman is haunting Sebastian with his own memories in an attempt to turn him into the very same thing all these people had turned into. That it’s now chasing Joseph too, haunting him with memories of Beacon, likely with the same intent.

Sebastian doesn’t seem focused on the conversation anymore, anyway. In fact, he’s staring off at something else entirely. Joseph watches him take a step over to the side of the desk and curl his fingers around what looks like some sort of slide for an old-fashioned projector.

Come to think of it, hasn’t he seen one of those somewhere in this STEM…?

He doesn’t have much time to think about it. Blue suddenly floods the room, which grows cold as ice. A childish laugh sounds somewhere around them.

Joseph and Sebastian face one another, their expressions both contorted in horror.

“Shit, it’s here,” Sebastian says, steam forming from his lips with every word. “We’ve got to get the hell outta here.”


	8. Chapter 8

Sebastian is sick and fucking tired of this shit.

It’s like just when he feels like he can let his guard down, this bitch shows right back up.

She’s in the Marrow, now. For the longest time, Sebastian had been under the impression that she couldn’t get in here—that her range was somehow limited to Union. But right now, trapped in this tiny surveillance room, surrounded by air so cold his lungs feel like they’re going to turn to ice, he realizes just how wrong he was.

Joseph…or Not-Joseph, or whatever he’s called…he claims he’s supposed to help protect Sebastian, but Sebastian doesn’t want that. This may not be the Joseph from his past… _his_ Joseph, but Sebastian still feels like he has his partner back. He doesn’t want to lose that. If this man was created out of Sebastian’s own mind, surely he can decide what said man is or should be around for. Surely, he can have Joseph by his side just to _have_ him here. Anything beats this strange, self-sacrificing mentality the Joseph clone has.

Wait a minute…Fuck this ‘Joseph Clone’ shit. It’s just _Joseph._ Sebastian is done acting like this man isn’t his partner. He _has_ his partner right here, and real or fake, he’s okay with it.

Most times, the ghostly stalker finds a way to lock the doors, but thankfully, she seems to have forgotten to this time. Sebastian wrenches the door out of the small room open and he and Joseph pour out of it and go sprinting down the hallway and toward the shutter they came in from.

“ _SEBASTIAN…_ ”

The voice comes out half a scream and half a frenzied giggle, and the shutter falls closed just before Sebastian and Joseph can get to it.

The room goes black.

Sebastian glances around frantically, seeking out his partner. “Joseph? Joseph!” When there’s no response, he feels his skin prickle with anxiety.

_“She attacked you instead of me?”_

_“I was in her way of you. That’s my guess.”_

Oh god…what if she’s got Joseph right now? What’s she going to do to him? Where the fuck _is_ she?

Color floods the room again, and Sebastian is launched backward. He slams into a wall somewhere behind him, and after he bounces off it and hits the ground, he realizes he’s not in the mine cart room any longer. It looks like he’s in one of the middle floors of a wide, square stairwell with a big open area in the middle. Off to his left, he can see the stairs leading down. He has to round one corner to get there, and pillars line corners of the balcony. He doesn’t know where the stairs lead to, but it’s better to get to them and find out than get hunted down by this thing.

His ghostly predator has taken to floating in the space in the middle of the balcony. Sebastian spots her and dashes forward to a cart sitting just in front of the balcony. It’s not much, seeing as this thing can float through objects and could very easily find him, but what else is he supposed to do?

He needs to get to those stairs. The spectre, however, seems to be guarding them. She’s not the smartest thing Sebastian has dealt with in this hellscape, but she’s at least intelligent enough to realize that Sebastian is probably going to try and escape that way.

At the very least, she still seems to be clueless about Sebastian’s location. Every now and then, she’ll turn her focus behind her or to her left or her right. It’s only a matter of time before she fans out into the corridor and tries to find where he’s hiding, though.

For now, however, Sebastian waits. It takes a good minute for her to decide to try a different direction, but the instant she’s made a one-eighty, he sprints to the left and practically dives for the pillar at the corner. It’s been mostly destroyed, but if Sebastian stays crouched, he’s just hidden enough.

Thank god Joseph isn’t here right now. With two people trying to navigate around her unseen, it’d be even more difficult. On top of that, if she’s after Sebastian right now, she’s too distracted to be after Joseph. Sebastian takes comfort in that.

It’s then that the ghostly attacker decides to breach the space between the balconies and search the rest of the corridor. Sebastian feels sick, because all she has to do is make one quick glance to the right and he’s fucked.

He makes the split-second decision to dash for the stairs, and he doesn’t look back. He descends as quickly as he can without falling flat on his face.

He finds himself on solid ground eventually, with no sign that his attacker spotted or chased him down. Directly ahead is another stairwell leading back up to the floor he just came from. To his right is an open set of double doors. Naturally, Sebastian doesn’t plan on going up again, so…

He veers right, jogging into what appears to be the bottom floor of the corridor. There’s a door with a red light over it directly across the room, and some sort of table with a body lying on it in the middle. Sebastian moves to approach it.

“ _SEBASTIAN…_ ”

Sebastian dives behind a nearby pillar off to his right when he hears the voice once more. He watches the woman flutter her way down from above, turning her head every which way as if seeking him out. Once she hits the ground, she lets out a mighty howl and raises her arms into the air. There are countless items scattered about this room, from shelves to tall machinery Sebastian doesn’t know the name or use of to tables and file cabinets, and this woman hefts every one of them up and slams them back down in a fit of rage. She flings the table with the body on it through the same lit-up door Sebastian needs to get to.

And then, as if nothing has happened, she resumes her search for her victim.

Sebastian has to get to that door. Where he’s at right now, he’s got a shelf he could hide behind, and then another pillar, and then he could sprint right for it. It may not be an escape, but it’s got to be better than what he’s dealing with in here.

He waits for the right moment and then sneaks as quickly as he can over to the shelf. A few seconds later, he makes a break for the pillar. He’s almost there, too. He just crosses the pillar when another shelf is thrown over and effectively blocks off his path. Shocked, Sebastian stumbles backward until he falls on his ass.

Gritting his teeth, he slinks back up behind that shelf.

Goddamn it, he’s so tired of running from this thing. Why can’t he just kill it like he has every other creature that’s gotten in his way?

Sebastian calms himself with a series of deep breaths and looks around again. There’s a file cabinet he can hide behind nearby, toward the middle of the room. Maybe he can get there and get across the room somehow? There’s got to be another way around to that door, after all…Sebastian can’t stop here.

Yeah, that’s right. He can do his.

He makes it to the cabinet, but his predator is extremely close now. She’s almost standing directly in front of the cabinet, and Sebastian can only crouch so far. The environment around her flickers and stutters like a dying lightbulb. Sebastian can feel tiny bursts of electricity jolting against his skin. Anxiety bubbles up in his throat so near to her like this. Any minute now, and she’s going to find him, and that’s it.

…Fuck that. Sebastian can’t take it anymore. He’s got to move.

He sprints the rest of the way across the room, ignoring the ghostly howl his attacker makes when she spots him. He’s just got to get to that door. He’s almost there, damn it!

She lunges for him and he dives forward behind another pillar. Out of rage, the ghost launches one of those tall, unnamed machines at her target and shatters both it and the pillar upon impact.

“Shit!” Sebastian growls, before he launches himself over what’s left of the pillar and makes a beeline for the door. He’s almost there. Surely, what lies behind that door is safer than what he’s facing now. He’s just got to _get_ there.

He’s stretching his arm out to reach the knob when an icy hand on his shoulder catches him and fills him with dread. His heart sinks when he’s violently spun around and comes face to face with what is inevitably going to be his death.

She’s so incredibly tall. Sebastian has to turn his head up at quite the angle to regard her. She tips her head so sharply that Sebastian legitimately thinks it may pop right off her shoulders. She squeals his name out in excitement and then raises both hands.

And then history repeats itself. Sebastian squeezes his eyes shut, braces for the worst, and when nothing comes, he opens them again.

Joseph, like the first time, is standing in front of her. His arms are outstretched as if guarding Sebastian from her. At some point in time, Sebastian has fallen to his knees, because Joseph towers over him right now.

The ghost is furious. She clamps her long fingers around Joseph’s shoulders and leans in close to his face.

Joseph screams, and it almost doesn’t sound human. Sebastian can see his partner’s knees trembling, as if they could buckle any moment. He watches Joseph’s quivering arms move up so that his hands can grasp at the attacker’s wrists. He screams louder, and the world around all three of them starts to tremble.

Sebastian doesn’t know what he’s seeing, except maybe a showdown. He doesn’t _think_ Joseph has any sort of special power in this world, but he’s sure holding his own pretty well.

“ _SEB…_ ” The creature roars, her hair and the tattered ribbons of her dress floating around everywhere, as if to display how angry she is. Her grip tightens and she seems to draw even closer in on Joseph.

One more piercing scream emanates from Joseph, before he somehow manages to straighten his legs and build his strength. The exertion is apparently exactly what he needed, because a few seconds later, the ghostly woman disappears entirely, fading into dust.

“Holy _fuck…_ ” Sebastian isn’t certain whether he should be horrified or impressed. “Joseph, that was…”

“You have to keep moving.”

Joseph doesn’t turn around. His voice sounds different. Raspy. Heavy.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Sebastian pushes himself to his feet, “c’mon. Let’s go.”

“I’ll catch up,” Joseph tells him, before he drops to his knees. “Just…give me a minute.”

Sebastian frowns. “…I can wait. Do what you’ve got to do, Joseph.”

“No,” Joseph retorts, and Sebastian swears he picks up a tinge of irritation in his voice. “You need to go, now.”

Sebastian feels his entire body go rigid. “…Do you know something I don’t?”

“Goddamn it, Sebastian, just _go_!” Joseph swings a fist out and punches the concrete ground in fury. The stone crumbles beneath his fists. Sebastian can hear his breathing growing heavier.

He scowls and takes a step back. “…Alright, fine. But you had better be here when I get back.”

“…Scout’s honor,” Joseph replies concisely.

Sebastian doesn’t like leaving him like that, but he has no choice. Even with concern gripping at his every nerve, he presses on. He passes through the door and enters into a hallway he recognizes immediately. The chipping paint, the dry smell in the air…this is Beacon.

It feels like he’s being led somewhere. There’s a wheelchair parked next to a doorway up ahead. Sebastian doesn’t feel as if he’s still being followed by that thing, so he just walks on in.

It’s a big empty room he doesn’t recognize. There are wheeled stools scattered about, a couple desks, some machinery Sebastian can’t identify, and a gurney or two off to the side. On one of the gurneys rests a piece of paper. Sebastian frowns and picks it up:

_“Date: November 17, 2014_

_Jim here. Just a quick note to give you an update on the Castellanos/Beacon situation._

_We’re sending Sebastian in for ‘mandatory counseling’. The Beacon incident needs to be kept under wraps and the good detective is our only loose end. We have many Operatives in KCPD, but not enough to ensure total information blackout._

_Fortunately, our staff psychologist is on the Organization’s payroll. Once we determine how much Castellanos knows, we can easily instill self-doubt through these sessions. When we’re through with him, Sebastian won’t be sure if what he witnessed at Beacon was real._

_Not that he needs much help. He’s been stumbling through his assignments like a zombie. Poor son of a bitch is obviously having trouble dealing with whatever happened to him in there. I almost feel bad for him. I’ve known the guy for over a decade… It’s like he’s a different person now._

_But that’s the price of progress. If you wanna make an omelet, you gotta break an egg or two._

_James Vankirk, KCPD”_

 

Sebastian looks up from the paper in horror.

“Kidman was right… They’re everywhere. They were right under my nose the entire time.” The realization is a tough one to process. Sebastian hadn’t ever wanted to visit that therapist. It had all felt like a distraction. And now, with all this new information about Mobius workers being undercover in the KCPD, Sebastian believes it even more.

The lights in the room flicker off then, as if telling Sebastian that he’s done in here. He heeds the message and starts back out into the hallway.

Across the corridor from him is another doorway. The lights in the room there are on. Sebastian feels as if it’s calling out to him.

In that room, he finds a table on his right with all kinds of papers scattered all over it. A single desk lamp glows over the stack, illuminating a torn piece of paper. The top half of the document is missing. Sebastian leans forward onto the table to read what’s left of it underneath the light:

_“…be kept on duty and observed. The information gained from his experience in STEM could be invaluable for the Organization._

_It has been posited that STEM immersion can have long-lasting residual effects. Detective Castellanos is unique in that he has entered and left STEM without standard preparation or memory overwrite._

_We could learn a lot about the mental repercussions of STEM use by simply letting him go about his business while we observe from a distance._

_I will continue to track Detective Castellanos’ mental state via our mandated therapy sessions and will report any findings to the Organization on a weekly basis._

_Walter Harrington, PsyD”_

Sebastian feels a heavy weight in the pit of his stomach there. “…Damn. Mobius were using me as their guinea pig. ‘Long-lasting residual effects’? They knew STEM would scar me like this…”

Sebastian hadn’t trusted many people after Beacon. Even his fellow officers at the KCPD had regarded him differently…cautiously. He hadn’t been too friendly with them anyway—he’d been too wrapped up in his own trauma to pay anyone much mind.

And yet, he still feels betrayed now. Ordering him a shrink to confuse and distract him without regard to his own mental health…these people are _disgusting_.

The lights in that room shut off, so Sebastian follows their lead and leaves. He turns to head for the door at the end of the hallway, which he now notices has a red light above it, too.

Hopefully, it’s a way out. But Sebastian doubts it. At present, it’s like he’s being shown something. He probably won’t be free until he knows what it is.

The door leads to a stairwell. It’s the only path he can follow, so he descends without much thought. It’s a fairly long stairwell though, and with each step, Sebastian grows more nervous.

Something flickers on the wall to his right. Sebastian turns his head to regard it, and his jaw drops.

It’s like there’s a projector somewhere, playing images onto the wall there. Memories. Leslie screaming, Ruvik and that cold stare of his, Beacon…Sebastian feels sick to his stomach at the sight.

_CLICK._

Sebastian wheels around to find another display on the other wall. He gapes in terror at it as he sees more of the past being played out in front of him. Kidman, Connelly, the creatures that ran amuck in that STEM…

Sebastian shakes his head, trying to do away with the images. But they still play out on the wall, repeating, with no sign of stopping.

“…Gotta keep moving,” he tells himself as he starts back down the stairs. He does his best to ignore the images that pop up on the walls as he passes by.

It’s as if the past is literally haunting him right now. He doesn’t have time for this. Lily could be in danger…

He reaches the bottom of the stairs and pushes open the door waiting there.

And he freezes on the spot. Is that…himself?

The body lies on the table, unmoving, a hand resting on his stomach.

“ _So much pain…_ ” The body mutters. Beyond him is a tapestry of images like the ones on the stairs, but these are all collaged together and seem to blend in perfectly with one another. Sebastian is lost in the sight for a moment, before he talks himself into walking again. He’s being shown something. He needs to figure out what it is so he can get out of here.

Sebastian is almost in front of the body when his head suddenly throbs in pain. He brings his hands to his temples and screams.

Images assault his mind. The chainsaw-wielder, those monsters in that trap-riddled area in Beacon, Ruvik, Ruvik again, Joseph attacking him, pain…so much fucking pain.

And then Sebastian is back. He’s gaping down at the man on the table. It’s like he’s looking at a carbon copy of himself from back then. He’s still sporting his vest, and his beard is more of a five o’clock shadow. He looks lost and afraid and full of agony.

The realization hits Sebastian like a ton of bricks.

“…The source of my pain…is _me_.”

Sebastian feels closure knowing that. Relief.

“The part of me still stuck in STEM.”

“ _Never getting out…_ ” The Sebastian on the table says, just barely above a whisper, and Sebastian suddenly knows what he’s got to do.

“…No,” he tells the man on the table, “I’m wrong.” His heart thrums in his chest as he fishes his gun out of his holster and points the barrel right at his other self’s temple. “I _am_ getting out. Just…without you.”

He fires the gun, and everything goes black.

And like that, he’s back in the same surveillance room from before. He feels free, and he notices that in his hand, he clutches his old revolver from back then. It’s almost like it’s a token of appreciation for all he went through, a la _‘Thanks for playing, here’s a reward!’_ and Sebastian almost wants to laugh.

He knows the ghost woman is done chasing him now. And he knows now why he couldn’t kill her. She hadn’t been done showing him something he had honestly needed to see. Maybe she had been testing him—trying to see if he could overcome his past—or maybe she had been trying to guide him to his solution. Either way, she’s gone now, and with it goes all the chases and the running and the fear.

Now, he’s just got to find—

“…Sebastian?”

Joseph’s voice is off to the right. Sebastian turns to face his partner, and his heart drops.

Joseph looks like he’s been through hell and back. He probably has. He’s slumped up against a locker, his arms limp at his sides. His legs are sprawled out in front of him. He doesn’t look like he has an ounce of strength left in his body.

Can fabricated humans even run out of strength?

That doesn’t matter right now though, because Sebastian will carry him if he has to.

It looks as if he might. The marks that had earlier been limited to Joseph’s throat and jaw are all the way up on his face now. They circle his left eye and cheekbone in angry, glowing, bubbling, scarred lines. One line runs clear under his left nostril, along the corner of his lips, and down his chin. It glows brightly, like a trail of white blood.

He looks as if he’s in a lot of pain, but the expression on his distorted features bears a thick weight of something more like shame.

“Oh my god…” Sebastian drops to his knees in front of his partner, his eyes scanning every inch of Joseph for more signs of mutation. This doesn’t make any sense. He’s not even _real_. He shouldn’t be able to be affected by this STEM…

“Don’t look at me like that…” Joseph manages a laugh, but it dies off into a series of violent coughs. Like before, in Beacon. Why is Joseph so susceptible to turning into these things?

It occurs to Sebastian that this may be his fault. If Joseph really _is_ fabricated from his mind, it could be possible that he’s turning because Sebastian remembers him turning back in Beacon.

He thinks as hard as he can. Tries his damnedest to picture Joseph _before_ Beacon. Hopes against hope that doing so will revert him back to his old state.

But it doesn’t work, and when Sebastian opens his eyes and sees the same violent marks mutilating his friend’s face, his heart sinks.

He places a hand on Joseph’s shoulder. “Are you in pain?” It’s a question with an obvious answer, but Sebastian honestly can’t think of what else he should be asking. ‘What happened to you?’ seems even more stupid, since he literally witnessed what happened.

“Don’t do this, Sebastian,” Joseph pleads. Somehow, he finds the strength to adjust his glasses so that he can look properly up at his partner. “I’m fine.”

“Bullshit,” Sebastian snaps. “C’mon.” He’s got to get Joseph somewhere safe. Away from these labs. Back to his… _their_ …Room. He tugs Joseph forward, curling an arm around his waist and taking one of the man’s arms over his shoulders.

“This is stupid, Seb…” Joseph tries to fight Sebastian’s hold on him, but he’s clearly too weak to do so. “Look at me.”

“I know what you look like,” Sebastian growls stubbornly. “Doesn’t matter. I’m still getting you out of here?”

“To where?”

“Our Room.”

Joseph doesn’t say anything. Sebastian takes that silence as his cue to keep moving. He helps Joseph walk out of the surveillance room, and they shuffle slowly down the long hallway, toward the shutter they came in through.

Once there, Sebastian ducks them both down under it.

“How are you going to defend yourself holding me like this?” Joseph asks weakly.

“I’m not,” Sebastian answers simply, already resolved to his decision. “You’re going to defend the both of us.”

“ _Sebastian_.” Joseph sounds irritated, even around all his exhaustion. “Come on, this is ridiculous.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Sebastian retorts bluntly.

He hears the click of Joseph’s gun as he pulls it from its holster. “…Fine. Okay, alright.”

They had done a good job earlier clearing out enemies, so Sebastian has hope that Joseph won’t need to do much. And for the most part, he’s right. They spot a few of the creatures ambling about in the lab, but even in his weakened state, Joseph has good aim. He takes out one with a clean headshot, and once they’re almost at the door where all the cylindrical containers await them, Joseph kills another with three rounds.

In the next room, Sebastian stops next to the door on the other end and lowers Joseph to the ground so that he can move the cylinder they had used to block the door to the security area earlier. He’s working hard at that when Joseph speaks up again.

“What about that ghost…thing?”

“What do you mean?” Sebastian frowns as he works. “You fought her off me.”

“I made her go away,” Joseph corrects. “That’s all I’ve ever done.”

…Wait. Does Joseph not realize just how incredible he was in that last showdown? He hadn’t just made her go away. He had put everything into fighting her. He’d risked himself to protect Sebastian. What was left of Joseph after that fight is sitting here now, not taking credit for standing his ground?

“You did more than just that,” Sebastian explains. “You gave me the chance to see what she wanted to show me. She kept taking me back to Beacon because of how much it tormented me. She showed me what was holding me back from moving on. It was either that or let her kill me, and you prevented that. Thanks to you… _both_ of you…I feel lighter. I eliminated the ghost in my past. You deserve way more credit than you’re giving yourself, Joseph. I couldn’t have done it without you. That much I do know.”

Sebastian finally manages to shove the cylinder away from the door.

“So she’s gone, then,” Joseph clarifies.

“Yeah.” Sebastian nods. “I think she is.” He turns his attention to the door. He and Joseph had trapped a decent chunk of those creatures in this room. He can faintly hear them. The growls and grunts, and even the garbled cries of the tall, crying monster are all coming from that one room. With no window to peer through, Sebastian can’t really discern how near they are. And with Joseph being the only one who can fight while Sebastian carries him, he has to plan this out carefully.

“Do you think we can outrun them?” Sebastian ponders.

“No way,” Joseph answers. “There were too many earlier, and there are going to be too many now. Besides, they’ll probably just lurk around until you come back from your Room, which I’m assuming you’re going to do once you get me there.”

Sebastian wrinkles his brow. “Don’t act like I’m hovering.”

“You are.”

“You’re _dying_.”

“I’m not.”

“Then what the hell’s all over your face, Joseph?” Sebastian questions harshly.

“I’m _changing_. You’d be smart to leave me be. Even smarter to kill me and get it over with.”

Sebastian feels anger flare up in his chest.

_“You should’ve just let me.”_

No. They aren’t going through this again. Joseph isn’t going to pull this little stunt on him.

“Don’t ever say that shit to me again,” he snarls, before he cracks the door and peers through.

The creatures all surround their hazy green commander right at the metal detectors, but when they hear the creak of the door, they all turn on Sebastian. The tallest one—the one with the green cloud floating around it—doubles over and lets out a shriek so loud that it shatters the glass in the containers behind Sebastian, and then it and its minions go sprinting for their target.

“Fuck!” Sebastian seethes, ducking behind the overturned cylinder. As one of the smaller enemies comes speeding by, Sebastian pulls out of cover and embeds his knife in the thing’s skull right through its jaw. He wrenches the knife out, and then switches to his handgun.

Thankfully, they’ve all honed in on Sebastian. None of them seem to notice the injured Joseph up against the wall not far from the door. Sebastian can’t take them all, but he can lead them away. He sprints back toward the labs, firing shots behind him whenever he can. A sharp right directs him up a flight of stairs, and once he’s at the top of them, he ducks behind the balcony.

It works. The creatures are all scattered about the lab now. Sebastian can hear the crying one making its way into the middle of the bottom floor, and the others are peppered around it. He hears one of them start up the stairs.

It’s easy enough to pick off, and once Sebastian has its corpse on the ground, he sneaks back down the stairs and around toward the door he came from.

When he enters, he finds Joseph caught up in a grappling match with one of those things. He shoots the thing right in the head, and when it collapses on top of Joseph, the other man somehow manages to find the strength to shove the creature off of him. He doesn’t fight Sebastian this time when he’s picked up off the ground.

“…Is this it?” Sebastian asks as they amble into the office in the security room. He’s standing in front of a door he’s seen scattered about Union before. It’s always close to where there’s a mirror. He’d never thought much of it—just figured it was a part of STEM messing with his mind again. But now that he knows Joseph shares a Room with him, it only makes sense.

“Yeah.” Joseph nods and then pushes away from his partner. Sebastian watches as he stumbles forward and puts his hand on the knob. He can barely stand. “I’ll be fine from here, Sebastian. Go find your people, and then hurry up and get your daughter.”

Sebastian can already tell looking at Joseph right now that the man is committed to his decision to go in alone. This time, he doesn’t fight it. “…When you get there, _stay_ there,” he orders. “You’re in no state to be trying to get around by yourself.”

“I’ll be fine,” Joseph responds. “I won’t do anything stupid.”

Sebastian hesitates. “…You’d better not.”

As Joseph opens the door and collapses inside of it, Sebastian turns around. It’s while he walks back toward the lab that he realizes he’s not going to get to leave STEM with Joseph. If he really is straight out of Sebastian’s mind, he’s going to die in STEM with everything else.

So perhaps Joseph had been onto something in suggesting Sebastian not go to all this trouble trying to save him. But even with that thought, it doesn’t sit right with Sebastian. Real or not, Joseph is his partner, and that’s all that matters. Until Sebastian has no choice but to let go of him, he’s going to treat him just like he would have the Joseph in the real world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I veering away from canon yet? Looks like I might be!


	9. Chapter 9

When Joseph passes through the door into his Room, he collapses, but he never quite hits the ground. He isn’t sure if it’s because time has stopped or gravity has just forgotten how to function properly. Either way, even as the door shuts behind him, he’s hovering there, right next to his desk.

It takes him a few seconds to realize he isn’t just hovering, though. He’s _sinking_. A glance down turns his attention to the floor, and how he can see his feet disappearing into it, almost as if he’s melting down into the ground.

He feels something like fear at the sight. What does he do now? He isn’t sure if it’s because of his current physical weakness or as a result of whatever’s happening here, but he can’t move his arms or legs. He just continues to slowly disappear into the floor without a shred of hope or knowledge as to what’s coming next.

Eventually, his shoulders and head pass through the floor and he finds he’s sunken into a sea of just…red. Dark red, like the color of blood after it’s dried. It almost feels as if he’s not supposed to be here, and with what little bit of strength Joseph has left, he finds himself glancing about frantically for any sign of someone else.

But there’s nothing. Just Joseph and the abyss of dark, foreboding red. It’s neither cool nor warm in this area. In fact, it’s almost as if someone has switched off Joseph’s nerve endings, because he can’t feel anything at all. He doesn’t feel the pain from the injuries he’d acquired protecting Sebastian, and he doesn’t feel the air moving around him. He doesn’t feel _anything._

What does this mean?

What’s going to happen to him?

Joseph closes his eyes and just lets himself continue sinking. He tips his head back, and despite that gravity seems to make no sense here, he can tell he’s supine. Something like sleep washes over him, but he can’t be sure what to call it exactly.

When he ‘wakes up’ again, he’s lying on some sort of surface. The deep red he’d last encountered is high above him like a ceiling, and surrounding him is what Joseph can only think to describe as a dungeon. Enormous stone bricks construct cracked floors and walls, and there’s something Joseph thinks might be blood trickling along the floor around him.

There’s a ledge in front of him. With some effort, Joseph pushes himself into a sitting position. Pain and heat swarm around him and make it feel hard to breathe, a sign that he’s gotten his senses back. But with his acquired senses comes some strength as well, because he manages to get to his feet without too much effort. A few glances around tell him he’s standing at the bottom of a pit. A couple of corpses litter the area around him, and directly in front of him is a ladder leading up the ledge, where a man stands, clad in…are those church robes?

The man holds himself upright with a cane, both hands resting on it in front of him. His eyes seem to gleam almost yellow, brightened by the flames lighting up some sort of symbol above him. His expression is cold and unwavering. Joseph doesn’t have to ask who he is. Sebastian had done a damned good job of describing him.

“You must be Theodore.”

“ _Father_ Theodore is preferable,” the man corrects. It startles Joseph how serious he is about that. He must really think he’s running some sort of religion in here, huh? “And you are Joseph Oda.”

Joseph doesn’t ask how he knows. “Where am I?”

“To ask me such a question is pointless,” Theodore explains, his deep voice loud and reverberating all over the dungeon, “because you will never find it if you come looking. This is your one chance to listen to what I have to say. Your one chance to make it easier to do what you wish to do.”

Joseph won’t deny his curiosity, but Sebastian has told him enough about Theodore that he already knows before saying anything that he’s not going to give this man the response he wants. Like hell is he going to do anything for someone willing to take possession of a little girl for his own selfish needs. Let alone Sebastian’s child.

Behind Joseph, he hears a sound like a deep growl, and when he wheels around, he’s standing face-to-face with what looks like a bunch of lava and rock sculpted into the shape of a human. It’s got its hands knotted up into fists, shoulders hunched, as if it’s ready to attack. Joseph fumbles for his gun, but realizes it’s either been taken from him or he’s lost it somewhere.

And then there’s a flicker, like a candle being blown out, and the molten rock creature is sporting a cloak. Not just any cloak, either. In the blink of an eye, Joseph isn’t standing in front of the creature at all. Instead, he’s standing in front of none other than Ruvik. Ruvik, with his cold, cold stare and eyes that bore right into Joseph’s skull.

Ruvik doesn’t say anything. He’s still as a statue.

“You are haunted by what he made you do,” Theodore says from above. “The thing he made you become.”

Another growl, this time to Joseph’s left, and when he turns around, it’s just in time to see another one of those creatures take on a different form. This one looks just like him—the him from back in Beacon, with all the cracks in his complexion and the reddened eyes. It, like Ruvik, doesn’t speak. Just stares icily at its present self.

“You are afraid of what you might become in here. You nearly killed those you regarded as teammates, and you were so close to taking your own life out of fear that you might not be stopped next time. You fear that, now.”

Joseph glances over his shoulder at Theodore, frowning deeply. He hates it, but he also knows this man is right. When he had stopped Sebastian from getting attacked by that ghost woman the most recent time, he had known what she was doing to him. He had already put the pieces together—that _she_ was the Lost Phenomenon. That _she_ was the past chasing people up and swallowing them. That she would have inevitably turned Sebastian into one of those creatures, and that if Joseph stopped her from doing so to Sebastian, she would eventually do so to him in the man’s stead.

And he’s afraid of that. He’s in so much pain, and it seems like his past in Beacon draws ever closer. Memories of what he had done taunt him so often that he isn’t sure how much longer he’s going to last. And Theodore knows this. Somehow, he knows.

“What do you plan to do about it?” Theodore questions as Joseph steps backward, away from the two men staring him down and closer to the ledge where Theodore towers over him. “Do you keep your distance until the darkness engulfs you and hope you never run into Sebastian once you’ve turned? Or do you continue your fight alongside him and pray you never get that far before he gets out?”

_“Now’s not the time. I need my partner here.”_

Joseph wheels around. To his left, Sebastian is standing there. Despite the words that send him reeling to the past, at Beacon, the Sebastian standing in front of him looks just like the one he’s been tailing in Union, right down to the nasty cut next to his left eye. The bright amber light in his eyes is gone, though. He stares Joseph down just as coldly as Ruvik and the tormented version of himself do. All three of the manifestations take a step toward Joseph.

“You are at a loss,” Theodore continues from above, as his creations continue to close in on Joseph. “And yet, you know exactly what it is you must do. The answer is simple in your head, until you include emotions in the equation. You have to disappear somehow. You’ve served your purpose, after all. The past tormenting Sebastian Castellanos is no more. You know you cannot be extracted—that Mobius no longer has need for you.”

Joseph is too preoccupied to retort. The three figures have backed him into a corner. He ducks and hobbles to the side, before he trips and collapses down onto the ground. He’s still so weak. Goddamn it, he needs more strength…!

“You do not wish to leave your partner’s side,” Theodore states, as if nothing is going on in the pit beneath him. “You are still concerned for him, and you selfishly thrive in his company. Your emotional well for him runs deep, but it will inevitably be your downfall. And when you transform, it will be his as well. He will not rescue Lily, and he will not confront Myra. Because you will have consumed him.”

Joseph narrows his eyes and stumbles back to his feet. The three men are still approaching him. “Isn’t that what you want?”

“I wish for the power of the Core,” Theodore answers. “Nothing more. Nothing less.”

“That’s a blatant lie,” Joseph scoffs, and the three figures stop when he turns a sneer up at Theodore. “You’d gladly take more. That’s why you’re trying to recruit me right now. You think Sebastian hasn’t told me all about you?”

“Sebastian’s knowledge is not absolute,” Theodore says, and the figures continue their approach. “He is blinded by his own inflated ego. He is compelled to believe wholeheartedly in his assumptions, because it’s all he’s ever known how to do.”

“Yeah, well,” Joseph glances back and forth between the three still chasing him. He finds himself pressed up against another wall. A smirk somehow works its way onto his features. “I’d trust my partner’s smugness before I’d ever trust you. You can go to hell.”

Theodore doesn’t answer him right away. Either he’s caught up in his own thoughts or he’s too angry to come up with a proper response. Instead, the manifestations close in on Joseph and erupt into flames.

Joseph screams.

The roar of the flames surrounding him disappears altogether. Theodore’s heavy presence fades away. Joseph’s screams do not dissipate. Not until he realizes that he’s not in that same hell anymore.

When he becomes aware of the silence around him, Joseph opens his eyes and glances around. He’s on his back in his Room again. A meow sounds from nearby, and a black cat moves to Joseph’s side. It nuzzles his shoulder, and then spins around and trots back to the table Joseph’s always seen it on.

He winces through the pain radiating from the scarring all along his neck, shoulder, and side, and gets to his feet. With some effort, he shuffles over toward the table. On said table is a mug. The cat circles it, and then parks next to it and starts cleaning its paw. Steam emanates from the mug.

“You want me to drink this?”

The cat doesn’t answer. By now, it’s too absorbed in the task of cleaning its fur. Joseph frowns at the liquid in the mug, though he can tell by the smell that it’s coffee. The mug has a Mobius logo on it. Joseph hesitates, but eventually takes a sip.

It tastes awful. Bitter, like it’s been sitting in the pot for at least a day. But after a sip or two, Joseph understands why he needed to drink it. His muscles feel looser and more relaxed. He aches, but not quite as badly. It’s like it’s taking the edge off of all he’s been through over the past…god, how long has it been, anyway?

Joseph runs his fingers along the side of his face. The scarring is still there, but it feels less pronounced. He carries his cup of coffee over to the mirror and peers down into the reflection. The scars just look…human, now. He’s not sure if that’s better or worse. But he can move around now, which is a plus.

He figures he should probably call Kidman up and let her know that Sebastian is free from the thing that’s been chasing him, but he can’t help but wonder what happens after that. She’s already made a point to tell him that he can’t leave this STEM once it’s all said and done, but would they go to some other measure to do away with him? Russell had mentioned how they could end everything with the removal of some chip. Maybe Joseph should get his own taken out before he does anything.

But wait…their bodies right now…they’re not real. Removing the chip in STEM doesn’t remove it in real life. Wouldn’t that make the entire point moot? So…why had Russell done it?

Joseph makes the conscious decision there to see if he can find Russell again. If the man isn’t trying to follow Mobius’ orders anymore, chances are he’s still lurking somewhere around that portion of Union near the theater. Or rather…whatever’s left. Joseph isn’t sure that segment even still exists after what went down there.

Sebastian had told him to stay, but that was before the Room had somehow blessed him with something he can’t think of any other way to describe than as ‘magic coffee’. It hadn’t healed him, but it had definitely taken the pain away and made him feel a little more human. He’s got to take advantage of that, since he has no idea how long he’s got it for.

If the typical pattern with the Room applies, Joseph is going to leave here and wind up right back in that lab. He’s got a good enough memory to figure out how to get back to Hoffman’s safe house, but from there, he’s going to have to look the rest of the way up. Joseph doesn’t know how long it’s been since he and Sebastian separated, and a part of him thinks that maybe he should go seek the man out.

His impulse to do so dies when he leaves the Room and finds himself standing in a different safe house. He recognizes the inside of the Post Plus building instantly. But that doesn’t make any sense… Why didn’t he exit at the lab? Had it gotten destroyed?

Is Sebastian alright?

Joseph crosses his arms over his chest, leaning back against the wall near the door he just came from. What is he supposed to do? Sebastian’s signal hasn’t shown up on his communicator in a long time, so going looking for him probably isn’t going to do any good. But there’s got to be some reason Joseph can’t access the labs anymore. God…please let Sebastian be okay.

“Oh, hey,” a familiar voice rasps from somewhere off to Joseph’s left. He glances over to find himself staring at a smiling Russell. “You’re alive. How’d breaking into the Theater go?”

Joseph relaxes. “Is there still a Theater?”

“Yeah,” Russell frowns. “I mean, it looks like it’s all torn to hell, but it’s still there. What happened in there?” His frown deepens as he approaches Joseph. “…The hell happened to you?” He raises a hand and taps two fingers on his own neck to demonstrate what he’s talking about.

…Right. The scars. Not as bad as they had been, but still very visible. Something Joseph hadn’t had the last time they had spoken. A definite cause for concern and suspicion on Russell’s part. Joseph would have wanted to pull a gun on him if the tables had been turned, since Joseph knows how inhuman suddenly sprouting scars sounds in a world full of monsters.

So he sits down and tries his best to explain. He’s already grazed over the story for Russell before, but he goes through it in more detail this time. Tells him about what had happened to him in Beacon, and how he should probably be dead based on that experience alone. Brings up how he was sent into Union to protect Sebastian from the very thing that’s transforming everyone in here into what he decides mid-story to call The Lost. And then he tells Russell exactly what happened when he’d protected Sebastian the last time.

By the time Joseph finishes talking, Russell has taken a seat on a nearby office chair, and he looks wrapped deep in thought.

“…So you see her too, then?” Russell finally questions.

“We probably all do,” Joseph admits. “That’s why when STEM started to collapse, just about everyone was affected. Those of us who aren’t yet are either lucky or fast. Sebastian spoke like the thing stalking him had been trying to show him something too, so maybe confronting your past without letting it consume you is part of the battle. I’m still not sure how he did it, though.”

“Shit,” Russell sighs, “that’s heavy. Where _is_ Sebastian, anyway?”

Joseph shrugs. “I couldn’t tell you. I know he’s got a lead on Lily—”

“—the Core?”

“Yeah,” Joseph answers. “He’s still trying to find her.”

“Jesus. He’d better get a move-on.” Russell turns his gaze to the door leading out of the room, where what’s left of Union awaits. “The collapse is getting worse.”

“Yeah,” Joseph agrees. “Speaking of STEM…your chip.” He motions to the scar on the back of the other man’s neck. “Why’d you have it removed again?”

“So Mobius can’t track me,” Russell answers with a shrug. “Why?”

“Because I thought about removing mine, too,” Joseph replies. “Except I don’t care if they can track me. I just…don’t want them to terminate me until I know Sebastian and Lily are safely out of here.”

“You think they’re just gonna up and kill you?” Russell doesn’t look surprised. Joseph knows he’s onto something as a result.

“I know they will,” Joseph says. “Either that, or they’re just going to leave me in here. They already told me they didn’t arrange for my extraction.”

Russell ponders Joseph’s words for a moment, and then he shakes his head. “Removing the chip in here only stops you from being tracked. You can’t remove it from your real body while you’re asleep, so if they want to kill you, they’re gonna do it. They could do it to me any time, too.”

“I…figured as much.” Joseph nods in understanding.

“So, what’re you gonna do?” Russell asks.

Joseph thinks about the question for a few moments. The answers are few and far between, however. “I think I’ll stay off their radar for now. I was going to report in about Sebastian, but I think I’ll do that after I know he and Lily are okay.”

“That’s a good idea,” Russell agrees. He motions to Joseph’s neck. “It might not be a bad idea to go ahead and take that thing out, though. May be a little easier for you to keep them off your ass if they can’t track you, y’know?”

“Yeah.” Joseph strides into the room. “About that. I’d like it if you helped me. I figured if I actually decided to go through with it, I’d ask you to help me.”

Russell laughs so suddenly that it almost sounds like barking. “You sure about that? You freaked out when you saw what I did to my own neck.”

“That’s exactly why I’m asking for your help,” Joseph replies simply. “I don’t want to do the same to myself. You probably did because you couldn’t see very well. You can see the back of my head just fine.”

Russell looks thoughtful. “…You know this is gonna hurt like hell, right?”

Joseph nods. “I’m sure I’ve felt worse.”

“…I gotta ask:” Russell cocks an eyebrow. “Who hurt you, kid?”

The process is indeed very painful, but as Joseph predicted, it’s nothing like what he’d been through when the ghost woman had attacked him, or the agony that had ripped through every nerve ending in his body when Ruvik would influence him back in the other STEM. He grits his teeth and bites back a few pained groans, but gets through it. Lucky for him, he had still been carrying around that scalpel he’d used to get his hands on a chip in the lab, and after some heavy sterilization, Russell was willing to use it instead of his own combat knife. He’s in the process of cleaning and stitching the spot now, when Joseph speaks up again.

“What about you?” He asks.

“What _about_ me?” Russell responds.

“I mean, what if they don’t extract you?”

“Huh,” Russell ponders, “I never thought about that.” He finishes up the last stitch, and then covers the wound with some gauze and medical tape. He watches Joseph sit up and wince a little. “Once I learned they didn’t give a shit about me, I stopped thinking about how I was gonna get out of here. So I suppose if I die, I die. If I get stuck, so be it. But at least I don’t have Mobius hovering over me right now.”

“Yeah…Yeah, I suppose so.”

After that, it’s like déjà vu. The post office trembles and Joseph and Russell both make a beeline for the door to figure out what’s going on. They step out into an insane amount of heat. Heat and the smell of smoke and ash fill the area around them. Not far from the theater, they can both make out the silhouette of something big and towering and covered in flames and smoke. It’s rising up out of the ground like a drill coming up out of the surface, causing the earth around them to quake fiercely.

“Goddamn it!” Russell snarls from next to Joseph. He casts a glance his acquaintance’s way. “Maybe next time you see your boyfriend, tell him not to do whatever the fuck he’s doing so drastically?”

“I don’t know if that _is_ Sebastian’s doing,” Joseph admits, still watching as the structure seems to grow taller and taller. “That looks more like Theodore’s work to me.”

“Theodore?”

“I don’t know much about him,” Joseph says with a shake of his head, “but I do know that Sebastian is after him, since he’s after Lily.”

Russell’s gaze returns to the flaming structure in the distance. “…Let’s hope he gets the son of a bitch, then. There any way we can do anything about it from here?”

“I’m not sure,” Joseph answers honestly. “Looks like there’s an awful lot of fire we’d have to wade through to get to it, and we’re still not sure if it _is_ him.”

“Dunno who the hell else it could be,” Russell suggests. “I’m gonna go get a closer look. You coming?”

Joseph genuinely ponders the question, before he nods slowly. “I think so, yeah. We might run into Sebastian that way. Maybe he’ll have some ideas.”

“Alright, then. Sounds like a plan.” When Joseph glances over at Russell, he’s smirking. He rolls his shoulders, and then starts back toward the Post Plus building. By now, the world around them has stopped trembling. “I’m gonna go inside and get myself heavily armed. Wait here.”

Joseph gives him an affirmative nod and then turns his attention back to the building in the distance. There’s a certain level of anxiety swelling around within him. What are they about to get themselves into? What has Sebastian gotten into? Are he and Lily safe? If this really is Theodore, why is he presenting himself like this now?

Joseph had told Russell that he wasn’t sure the emergence of this building is because of Sebastian, but he’s growing more and more anxious that it is.

He’s got to get there and make sure Sebastian is alright.

Joseph hears the door to the post office swing open, and he turns to regard Russell. Instead, though, he finds himself starting at a different, yet still familiar figure. Black hair and tattered clothes dance around her. The spectre is so tall that her head flutters through the top of the doorway as she floats out. Once she’s in the open, she zooms right for Joseph, giggling twistedly all the way.

He shields his face with his arms as if it might do any good.

_“He will not rescue Lily, and he will not confront Myra. Because you will have consumed him.”_


End file.
